Keeping the Silence
by Nymphchild
Summary: Daryl helps a girl find her voice again after a traumatic experience in a way that only he can. Warning that this is a sick story and rather twisted. Rate M for intense violence, sexual situations and general Daryl like language. Daryl/ OC. Expanded from Oneshot "The Silence".
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so I am writing this story as an expanded version of the one-shot I did called "The Silence." I got a bunch of comments saying that I should keep going with it, so I am restarting it from the beginning and working through. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Just so you know, this is not the same character as Trinity in my "Speaking to the Dead" story. Don't worry she isn't a weak women but it isn't the same kind of strength that Trinity has. Her character and the story are going to be quite a bit darker.**

**I don't own TWD or Daryl. **

**Please, Please, Please review. I continue stories based on reviews. **

**Chapter 1: **

He found her in the woods, beaten, bloody…naked. Very naked, in the worst way. Her tiny, slender body was sprawled out against the contrasting rocks and glass, limbs hanging around her like a puppet master had cut her strings. Her slim body was covered with long cuts and contusions, red, inflamed and angry in the autumn sunlight. At one point she had been beautiful, he speculated. At one point her skin had held a sun streaked glow. Now it was pale from blood loose.

His crystal blue eyes moved down her slim body and he noticed and much of the blood was centered in between her thighs. She had been violated, in the most angry ways possible. He looked around the woods, seeing bottles, broken glass, sticks. He pursed his thin lips and looked down at the body. This was what the world had come to hum? Violating little girls for the fun of it?

Fuck.

He leaned over the form gnarling on his thumb. He thought that she was dead but the moment he saw her face he knew he was wrong. That would have been too kind. Her bright green eyes looked up at him, the only part of her that moved, pupils dilated with pain. They were almost too big for her blood smeared face. He felt his heart tighten up as her eyes trapped his blue ones. Oh Christ, he thought to himself. Even if this girls body was dead she sure as fuck wasn't.

The hunter locked eyes with hers as his calloused fingers found the buttons on his flannal shirt. He undid them, one by one, never letting go of her eyes. He was trying to assure her but didn't know how. Her big green orbs were wide. Searching over his face with one word planted in them. _Enemy._

"I aint gunna hurt ya." His voice was firm, final, commanding. She didn't say a word in return. He finished unbuttoning his shirt and pulled it around her, lifting her limp body as he did. She was feather light in his arms, unmoving. His hands became coated in her sticky blood, some of the wounds opening at the shift in her bodies position. It ran down his arms as he finished wrapping her up. She didn't answer, didn't make a sound. Even when he picked her limp body up she didn't squeal in pain or whimper.

"What's yer name girl?" Again, there was nothing. "Ya don't talk. I get it." He lifted her in his arms and held her for a moment, still limp, still silent. "Ima get ya out of here."

* * *

Lori and Andrea were taking care of her, getting everything closed up and cleaned so that she wouldn't get an infection. When he had brought her back, hanging in his arms the woman had screamed at the sight of her. She was a ghastly thing to see, covered in blood and gore, even with his shirt wrapped around her. She was still hanging limply, eyes still open but hazy by now. The questions had flowed from all of their lips, counter acting each other. He'd grunted and told them to shut the hell up and help.

They had rushed her to Andrea and Amy's tent. He hadn't heard from any of them since. He sat out by the fire pit closest to the tent, waiting for news. Every hour or so one of them would come rushing out, carrying a bucket of water. It went in clear, came out blood red. He turned back to the dead fire pit. It was like they were gutting an animal in there.

"Fuck this." He muttered to himself, pushing himself up.

"Where are you going?" Shane asked, intervening as always.

"Huntin'." Daryl muttered. "What's it ta ya pig?" He pushed past the man and made his way to the silence of the woods.

He moved through the woods taking a hint from the torn up, little girl and being silent. He slipped through the darkening woods, coming upon the open clearing where he had found her, squatting to the ground. He ran his dirty fingers ran along the forest when her prone body had lain. Bringing his fingers up, coated again with the sticky liquid and he rubbed them together. He was surprised that she had lived this long…her blood was soaked into the cooling ground.

He looked up and around, searching for tracks. They were easy to spot, heavy work boots carved deep into the ground. Size nine by the looks of it. The attacker was heavy, making the boots sink into the mud.

Something cracked under his boot, making him look down quickly. He reached to the ground and picked up a beer bottle, covered in blood. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth so hard that he could feel them nearly breaking against each other. He was going to track down and kill this man. He didn't know what it was that was making him so angry. The girl wasn't his problem. But something about a man beating, cutting into and raping a woman just crossed a line.

He looked up into the canopy of the trees. It was getting dark, the red light of the setting sun weaving its way through the thick branches. He couldn't do much tracking in the dark, but he was going to push on and try. He didn't want the fucker to get too far.

He came back into camp, leaves in his hair from running through the woods and underbrush. It was dark, pitch black with just a sliver of moon suspended in the air. The others were all gathered around the embers of a dying fire, talking quietly among themselves. Andrea and Lori were there with them, hunched over and exhausted. Lori was still trying to rub some of the blood off her arms. They all looked up at him as he came back into the camp site. His eyes were still on fire, filled with rage. The blue burnt. He had been pumping himself up in case he found the son of a bitch.

Daryl avoided them like the plague normally but he wanted to know about the girl. He walked over and looked at them, brooding so that they knew what he wanted. "The girl." He said. He didn't want it to sound like a question; didn't want them to know that he gave a shit.

"She's alive." Andrea told him solemnly. "Healing we hope. She was asleep when I left."

"She tell you her name yet?" Shane asked the two women through a mouthful of canned beans. He eyed Daryl, having expected him to bring back rabbit or at least squirrel.

Lori shook her head. "We tried to talk to her while we were doing it to give her some kind of comfort…let her know that she was safe. She didn't say a word. Didn't even make a sound as we were taking glass out of her."

Daryl wasn't surprised. She didn't talk, shocked into silence for who knows how long. She probably just looked up at the two women with those big green eyes.

He grunted and stormed back towards the tent that she was recovering in. He looked at it for a few long moments, tempted to go in but not letting himself. The smell of blood was evident even outside of it. He doubted that anyone else could smell it but to him it was clear and distinctive, like a sweet metal. He frowned before turning back his back on the tent and going into his.

* * *

It had been five days since he had brought her back to the camp. No one was allowed in the tent with her; they didn't know if she was dangerous or not. Only Andrea would go in to check on her, reporting back to the group. There was never really anything to report, just that she was healing, her colour was coming back and that she still hadn't spoken. She never ever spoke. Andrea said that she would try but the girl would just look at her. Daryl couldn't blame her. He wouldn't want to talk to any of these people either.

They still had no name for her. No identity. No information. It was making Shane more and more nervous as the days went on. He would pace outside the tent, looking at it and rubbing the back of his neck. On more then one few occasions he would try and storm to the tent, ready to question her.

"I'm an expert interrogator." Shane said as he moved across the camp after Andrea came out and reported that she still hadn't been able to get the girl to talk.

Daryl glanced up from where he sat on the tailgate of his truck, sharpening his knife to a fine razor edge. He had been going out every day to see if he could pick up the trail of the man that had attacked her. He wanted to make sure he was ready to gut the bastard. Daryl had continued to follow the tracks but they went in circles, coming back to the same spots, stopping, weaving around again…he would just have to keep following them around in circles until he caught up with him. It was frustrating.

"She doesn't need to be interrogated." Andrea told him desperately. "She was just brutally raped and left for dead! Going in there and demanding answers from her is just going to traumatize her more!"

Daryl got up and walked over to them slowly, listening and rubbing his bottom lip.

"I'll ask nicely." Shane mocked. "But we need to know who she is if she's going to stay here!"

Daryl growled, drawing all of their attention over to him. "You go in there and I'll slit yer throat." He animalistically snarled at the cop. By now the entire came was gathered around, waiting and watching to see how the standoff would end. Daryl narrowed his eyes at him hard. Hell, no. He had brought this girl back here, seen what she looked like laying in the middle of nowhere, close to death, her big green eyes starring up at him asking him 'why'. Shane stared at him hard, daring him to do it. Oh lord did he want to. Who did this guy think he was? He was acting like the righteous leader but was still willing to go in there and traumatize a rape victim?

"Guys…" Lori said, looking past them.

They all turned seeing the tent flap opening and the girl stepping out, slowly. She looked like she was learning how to walk again, moving jerkily, one foot at a time. She was wrapped in only the old flannel blanket that they had been using to cover her. It daunted her starved form. Daryl could see bandages peeking out on her legs, hands…there was one across her cheek over a slightly healing, yellowing bruise. A butterfly bandage on her eyebrow held it together. Her skin had some of its colour back, glowing in the sunlight. She squinted her big, green eyes up at the sun as she wrapped herself tighter in the blanket and looked around her.

Daryl gulped as he watched in the afternoon sunlight. She licked her full, pinkish lips, one with a nasty scab forming. She looked at him as though she could hear his throat clearing. Walking farther out, she quickly side stepped Shane as he tried to approach her, her eyes widening dangerously.

"Don't touch her!" Lori said quickly and Shane withdrew the hand that had he had reached out to stop her.

Daryl knew that look. His prey got the same wideness in their eyes when they thought that they were trapped. It wasn't a weakness move and it was most certainly not shrinking. It was desperately dangerous. She was likely to bite any man's hand off that tried to touch her.

He watched as she looked at Shane and then continued her path towards him. He stayed rooted in his spot, eyes locking with her green ones. He studied her closely, looking for that fear that she had when Shane came closer. He couldn't find it.

Finally she stood right in front of him, lifting one bandaged hand slowly. He felt himself tense at being touched but pushed the feeling away as best he could, uncoiling his muscles so that she wouldn't be afraid. His eyes followed it as she reached out and touched his face, studying it carefully, as though she was trying to remember something long forgotten. Her eyes ran over his facial hair and jaw line, his lips and finally up to his eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

There was a question in those green orbs as she starred into his blue eyes, her little hand still on his cheek. "I found ya." He told her quietly. Her dark eyebrows furrowed together as if trying to put the memory together. "I saved ya." He tried and she seemed to understand, her figures traveling his face and brushing his bottom lip with her thumb, mimicking the motion that he had done over her when he found her in the woods. He smiled, really just twinge up his lips but it was as close to a smile as he had gotten in a long time. "Yeah, that's right." He told her. "What's yer name?" He asked. He watched as her lips parted but no sound came out. "I'm gunna call you 'girl'." He told her. She gave him a little nod. Well at least he knew that she understood English now.

"What's her name?" Shane called over to them.

They both ignored the intrusion, her hand still on his scratchy cheek as he stared at her eyes. That was the only way she was going to communicate it seemed. "I'm gunna call her girl." He told Shane watching as the corners of her lips twitched up the slightest bit at him.

Daryl liked this girl. A woman that wouldn't talk? It was like a dream come true for him. She seemed to be able to ask and answer his question with just her eyes and facial expressions. He had to admit, he was interested…intrigued.

Suddenly he felt her hand twitch and looked down to see her legs about to give out, shaking mercilessly. It occurred to him that she hadn't walked in days and was probably still far from healed. Just as she fell he caught her and lifted her up again. The others from the camp jumped forward to help and she tensed.

"Get away!" He told them sharply, stopping everyone in their tracks as the girl dug her nails into his skin. "Just get outta the way. I got her." He carried her over to the tent, making sure to keep the blanket securely around her tensed body. He ducked them into the tent and looked around before finding the makeshift bed in the corner and lowering her to her feet. He was about to turn and leave the stuffy tent but she grabbed his wrist and stopped him, a pleading, serious look on her face.

"What?" He asked her. She tugged his wrist and he looked at her curiously. "I don't know what ya want." He let her lead him over towards the bed and down to the floor. She laid down on the blankets, keeping a firm grip on his wrist.

Suddenly he realized what was going on. "No!…no. I don't watch over people." He told her, turning to leave but her grip tightened, that pleading look still on her injured but pretty features. He sighed, frustrated now. "I'll go get Andrea or Lori or something." She shook her head negative on the pillow. "Girl…ya don't want me here. I aint no good ta ya." He growled.

Her green eyes darted over to the side of the tent behind her where they could both hear the low voices of Shane and Ed muttering angrily. He muttered something like "fuckin' idiots" under his breath before looking back down at her and giving her a curt nod of acknowledgment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay after this chapter we will move onto where the one-shot ended. I have gotten so many great responses so I'm really happy with how this story is coming along so far. Thank you so much for the Reviews! I always post more when I get feedback**

** This is a long one so I really wanted to get through it to start after the one-shot. Please continue to review.**

**Warning- Very violent chapter coming up.**

**Chapter 2:**

Daryl woke up from his light sleep as the morning sun heated the tent. He could already feel himself getting sweaty in the sticky confines of the nylon structure. He looked down at the sleeping girl, her heart shaped face still with her little button nose crinkled, drawing the bandages into the center of her face. He looked down at where his hand still hung limply, her fingers still wrapped around his wrists. He saw skin under them, bruises on her knuckles that were starting to heal. She had fought back…fiercely.

The blanket had come somewhat looser while she slept and he could see her pronounced collarbones and shoulders lined with lean muscle. He wondered what she had done before this…what world she lived in, where her mind was now, lost in sleep. He took in one of the long cuts that ran across the clavicle, sighing to himself.

What was he doing in here? He couldn't help her sitting here. The only thing that he could do was find and kill her attacker. He was contemplating carving out his heart and gift wrapping it for her. The thought made him smirk to himself.

She stretched, opening her eyes and letting out a little breath. Her toes pointed, peeking out from under the blanket as each individual digit moved. She looked up at him and sat up slowly, holding the blanket to herself with a single hand. She looked around them, confused before her face fell.

Daryl let out a slow breath. "It wasn't a dream." He told her solidly. "Ya need ta accept that." She shook her head no and he growled. "I gotta go out…huntin'. Ya need ta eat." She looked panicked, her eyes widening with that wild animal look entering them again.

He considered his reaction before giving up. Reaching down, he lay a large hand on the top of her head, like one would do to assure a small child. "No one's gunna touch ya." He muttered before turning his back on her.

* * *

Daryl had continued to follow the path through the forest for the next few weeks, catching and stringing squirrels as he went. He had frowned as he saw blood on the ground again. There was too much blood around here; it was bound to draw walkers. He'd wondered if it was 'Girl's' blood. It was far from where he had found her body.

He could tell her attacker was clearly insane, not from just raping her but because of the way he was running around the woods with no clear destination.

Daryl threw the string of squirrels down next to Shane when he came back into the camp, looking around. "Don't cha people do nothing while I'm gone?" He growled. His eyes continued to scan the area finally finding the girl sitting right outside of her tent. She had changed into a pair of loose jeans that hung from her hips and a white tank top. She was still covered in bandages though they didn't look as red as before.

Shane followed his eye line. "She say anything to you yet?" Daryl shook his head. "Hasn't said a word to anyone else either. Any time anyone comes up to her she just looks at them like she does with those big ass eyes. It's creepy."

Daryl was tempted to say that Shane was the creepy one…always watching her. He'd reached out a few times that Daryl had seen. She tensed up and freaked, muscles taunt and ready. She was a snake ready to strike and no one seemed to see it but him. One of the times Daryl had actually found himself stepping in, telling Shane to back the fuck off. He'd taken her arm and pulled her into the tent until she uncoiled.

He grunted as Shane and walked over, standing in front of her. Shane was right about one thing: she did have big ass eyes. She relaxed when she saw it was him. "Ya okay girl?"

She shrugged at him and he nodded, looking down at where she was wrapping her bruised toes in gaze. It looked good, practiced, each toe separated, wrapped tight before coming up to the balls of her foot. He swallowed.

He'd been right when he found her in the woods. Once all of the blood and gore was washed off her and the wounds had started to heal she had turned out to be a good looking girl; maybe in her early to mid twenties. She had Mediterranean skin, an off olive colour and chestnut brown hair falling in gentle waves to her shoulders, contrasting the violence in her tormented eyes. He hadn't been able to tare his gaze from her. Her silent, full lips drew him in, waiting with daily anticipation for her to speak to him….to anyone.

He gulped down his thoughts. "Ya gunna talk ta me tonight?" She shook her head no. He nodded again, not wanting to admit that he was disappointed. He watched as she turned and reached into her tent. She turned back around to him and put a plate of beans and squirrel meat in front of him. He looked at her curiously. "I missed supper?" He tried.

She nodded and he grunted, shoving a few pieces of the meat into his mouth. She looked away and he knew that it meant nothing to her to do that for him. It wasn't even on her radar. She was too full of…something: trauma maybe. She needed something from him. He knew that. He wondered if she knew how far she would have to go to take his kind of 'healing.' He watched as she turned and went back into her tent for the night.

The next day he went out into the woods again as he always did. He looked over at 'Girl' and gave her a nod as he left, sure that she didn't know what he was doing. Shane was getting antsy about him not coming back with enough food. He hadn't gotten a deer since he had found her…because he wasn't hunting for game…not that kind of game anyway.

He picked up where he had left off the night before, following the tracks and thinking about her pretty little face, now healed and prettier than anything else in this god forsaken world.

The afternoon light was flooding through the trees when he finally heard something, an odd sort of grunting and rustling. He edged closer, crossbow raised and pushing the brush out of his way.

He wasn't prepared for what he saw. At first he thought it was a walker, eating someone but its skin wasn't pale enough and the huge cargo pants were down around his ankles as he thrust into something on the ground.

"What the fuck…" He muttered. He wanted to gag. He'd never wanted to gag before in his life. He pushed through brush and jumped the man, punching him in the jaw with all the force he could muster, finally hitting him with his cross bow to knock him out. He wanted to kill him but he had better idea. All the same he had to focus to keep his enraged mind from slaughtering him.

He looked over at the body of another woman, blond this time, pretty….young, laying limp just like Girl had been except her eyes were closed. He reached down and touched her pulse around all of the blood. He closed his eyes and hissed out a "fuuuuuuuck" when he felt none. Whipping his hand from the blood on his hands, he looked down and saw that her femoral artery had been cut.

Taking a deep breath he tried to steal himself before looking back at the sick, unconscious bastard on the ground. If he hadn't been coming through the woods, this guy would have kept cutting and raping Girl to death. His breathing deepened as he pulled several zip ties from his pocket, anger, hatred and venom filling his gut.

_Just keep thinkin' 'bout Girl. _He told himself. _Think 'bout her lips. Think 'bout her eyes. Think 'bout how much she needs this._ He tied the man up and lifted him over his shoulder with a grunt.

* * *

The silent girl looked at Daryl with big green eyes again as he grabbed her elbow and pulled her away from the camp. "Come with me." His firm voice murmured as to not draw the attention of the others as they went about the evening tasks.

He led her out of the camp and into the woods. She followed with easy steps, not showing that she was in pain anymore. She never showed pain, he noticed. She had endured enough of it to know how to tolerate it by now.

"Been lookin fer the guys that did this ta ya." He told her as they moved deeper into the woods. She looked over at him, still silent as she stopped, her eyes widening and body becoming stiff as a board. He turned to her. "It's okay Girl." He tried to assure her. "Come on."

He continued to lead her farther and farther into the still dimming woods, the air becoming cooler as the night rolled in. They were getting far out by now, far enough away so that the other survivors couldn't hear anything. Just the way it needed to be.

He led her down a small crevasse in the earth, Daryl going down first to lead the way. He reached out a calloused hand to her to help her but she just looked at it cautiously. She didn't know what he was doing and he could tell from her eyes darting to him that she was nervous, even with him. He sighed and let her crawl down the roots and branches nimbly and on her own.

"We're almost there." He told her, continuing to walk with her following him. He could see it in her face. She was cautious but curious. She was an open book of emotion even without speaking. Silence was a testimony that for her none of this was over. He was going to make it over. Right now. Tonight.

Finally they reached his destination and she halted, stopping dead and suddenly. He had the large man tied to a large thick tree branch, suspended in the air, his feet barely touching the ground. He'd been beaten, head lulling down but looking up sharply when he saw them.

His eye was swollen and there were contusions on him in the same places where some of her worst wounds had been. Daryl had been taking out his anger on this scum bag he had found raping the body of a girl in the woods.

He had wanted to kill him then. He'd been so driven to…it was what he was made for, programmed for. Every inch of him ached to take out his anger and vengeance for the little girl that only let him touch her.

He had needed to think hard about her face to stop himself, even while carrying him here over his shoulder; her bright eyes, so full but unable to move on, her body language when any of the other men in camp came near her. He kept repeating the images over and over in his head. She was drowning in the pain that she had experienced, bottling it up. She needed to move on and he knew just how to help her.

The man screamed into the rag that Daryl had shoved forcefully in his mouth. Daryl put his cross bow to the ground and looked at the girl he had been able to save. She was ridged as she looked at the man, now so helpless.

"This the animal that did that ta ya?"

Her lips parted as she looked at him, hatred mixed with fear clear in her eyes. He was proud though; there was so much more anger there than fear. No sound came from her parted lips, not a scream, not a sigh, not a word.

His hand drifted down to his belt and pulled out his hunting knife, gripping the cold handle overhand and holding it out to her. He blocked the sound of the man screaming into the rag out. He looked at her seriously, his focus on her intense. "Don't know who ya are…but it's time fer ya ta come back." He murmured.

She looked at him closely, before she took the knife from him with her slender little hand. It looked so huge when she held it, so threatening. He watched in masked awe as she studied it, keeping his face hard. She looked up at him with those big green doe eyes before turning and walking up to the man slowly, like she was stalking him.

She looked at her attacker and rapist closely before reaching out and ripping open his shirt. The dirty worn fabric tore with a chilling sound in the silent woods. The man screamed again in anticipation of pain and struggled, but Daryl had tied him up tight; rigged him up like a deer for gutting. There was no way this monster was ever going to hurt her again.

She looked at the man's fat chest, seeing the deep scratch marks she had left that were now healing. She turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder at Daryl. He gave her a curt nod of his approval. She looked back at the captive and slowly licked her bottom lip, looking a bit sadistic as she studied her prey.

Daryl watched as she took a deep breath and raised the knife, driving it home with more force than necessary. The man screamed and gurgled but she dragged the blade down with both hands, gutting him open just like the animal Daryl and she both knew that he was. Steam from the warmth of his insides and entrails formed when it hit the cool morning air. The metallic smell of blood and bowels voiding stung the clearing.

Daryl leaned against a tree while he watched, rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb as she stabbed over and over again, ripping away flesh, spraying sticky, crimson blood everywhere. It was all over her again, covering her face and arms like a fucked up modern arts painting.

Tears welled in her eyes as she repeatedly stabbed. But they weren't for this man. These were all for her. It was more emotion about her attack than she had ever shown. The sounds of pain and screams from the man had ended a while ago but she seemed unable to stop. It lasted forever, her butchering unpracticed and unknown.

Finally she ended her assault, falling to the blood and gut soaked ground. She dropped the knife beside her, her wrist trembling from the force that she had used.

Daryl walked slowly over to her and lifted her from the ground under the arm. He led the girl over to cleaner ground and sat down with her in front of him. Her hands were braced on the forest floor with him kneeling in front of her. He took out an old rag and whipped some of the blood from her cheeks and her full bottom lip. She wasn't crying, she was barely trembling anymore.

She looked up into his face as he cleaned her up, their eyes locked again in a silent understand that what they had done wasn't wrong but they couldn't tell anyone else. Her tell tail orbs were still huge but no longer haunted.

The girl studied him for a moment before her pink and red coated lips opened again. "Piper." She breathed softly.

Daryl started at the sound, not expecting it. He had been wanting to know what her voice sounded like for weeks now. He wasn't disappointed but he was shocked at the little light sound of it. He starred at her questioningly.

"My name is Piper."


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you so much to everyone who had reviewed, followed and favorite this story. I've never had this big of a response in such a short time. I take it that means my sick mind has come up with something that is both disgustingly deranged and interesting! _

_Please continue to review and tell me what you like!_

**Chapter Three: Rabid**

_Piper. Pip. Er. Pi. Per. Piper._ He sounded the name out over and over again. It felt good in his mouth, on his mind, in his head. They walked through the silence of the woods, matching its sound, or lack of sound. He kept glancing over his shoulder at her, taking in how she was still walking with stiff limbs. She didn't look traumatized by what she had just done; what he had helped her to do. Instead she seemed to be considering it, her head cocked to the side and eyes focused on the matching, grass covered ground in front of her.

Daryl had the girl at his elbow as they walked back towards camp. He had cleaned her up as best he could and hoped that the rest of the group wouldn't be able to notice the red blood on her dark clothing. She hadn't said a word to him after telling him her name. She was still quiet; he barely knew she was there. It was a welcome change from the constant hum of people around the camp. Still he wanted to hear her say his name…worse than he would have ever imagined. He knew that she knew what it was, had heard the others in the camp saying it. Andrea said that she had told her about him brining her back.

While he was focused on his thoughts, she reached out her hand and touched his thick bicep, stopping him. She was taking deep breaths and looking back into the woods towards the camp. "I can't go back there."

Daryl looked at her questioningly. "Why the hell not? Ya got someplace better ta get off ta?"

She shook her head quickly making her waves fall and move over her shoulders. "Why did you do that? Bring him here for me?"

Daryl looked away, avoiding her eyes. Did she think that he was a freak? She seemed fine when she was carving out a man's intestines. "Ya looked like ya needed it. Did ya?"

Piper bit her lip, head still cocked to the side before nodding at him. "I don't want to talk to them. They'll make me talk." She said so quietly that he had to step into her to hear.

Daryl looked at her closely, taking in her delicate features again now that she wasn't covered in blood. She was a beautiful girl, he noticed yet again. She was like a little broken bird that he had kept in a shoe box trying to nurse in back health when he was a kid. That is, until his daddy found it and stomped it to death, calling him a pussy.

"Then don't." He reached out his hand, seeing if she would flinch. But she didn't. He'd saved her, gained her trust by healing her with the sickness she had carved into down the ridge.

He gripped the back of her hair and brought her forehead to his, breathing in the lingering smell of blood and death on her pretty skin. He needed her to understand and connect to what he was saying. "Listen ta me _Piper. _You aint gotta talk ta no one ya don't wanna. No one but me gotta know yer talkin again. Got it?" Piper closed her eyes and nodded. "But ya can't be not talkin' cause yer scared 'Kay? I want ya ta say this wit me: Ya killed him."

Piper kept her eyes closed and nodded, soaking in his words and the deep Georgia drawl. It was an odd sort of comforting sound, filled with conviction and strength. He wasn't going to coddle her. She had to move on to survive and he was making that perfectly clear. "I killed him." She repeated.

Daryl nodded. "Ya killed him an' he aint never gunna hurt ya again. I want ya ta keep rememberin' that. We got us an understandin'?"

"Yeah. Loud and clear." She told him.

Daryl grunted before reached down and undoing his belt. He saw her go into defense again but it wasn't harsh as it was with the others. This was what the rest of them must feel like when she pulled away from them, he thought. Like she thought they were going to do the same to her that the now dead man had. He didn't like the feeling. He hated it. He wasn't ever going to touch her like that. He made that promise to himself quickly. She got to touch him, he didn't get to touch her. Easy. He slipped the leather pouch with his hunting knife from his belt and held it out. "Say it."

She took the knife that she had used to brutally butcher her rapist and held it, feeling the now familiar weight in her hand. "I killed him." She gripped the handle tighter as she said it, feeling the truth in the statement, gripping onto the knife as an anchor to reality.

He nodded. "With that knife, right there. Ya keep that. Ya think anyone's gunna hurt ya, that's yers now." He paused. "I wanna hear ya say ya aint afraid."

She looked up at him again, green meeting blue in a mutual understanding that this was for both of their peace of minds. "I'm not afraid." She breathed, and he knew that she was telling the truth.

* * *

It was all about the tiny glances. He couldn't stop taking them, watching her every movement to see how she was doing. He had to stop himself from using her name. He really wanted to…but no one else could know that she told him. As long as he didn't lift his head and looked under his eyebrows at her no one seemed to notice.

She still wasn't doing very well with people, still moving away from the men, but it wasn't as threatened as before. He couldn't expect her to magically okay after what they had done. In fact, some twisted part of him liked that he was still the only one that she spoke to, liked that he was the only one allowed within three feet of her.

At night instead of staying by herself she would come over Daryl's fire with a little glance back at the others. He would give her a nod and she would sit across the flames from him, the fire looking like it was licking her skin, glowing in the strands of her hair. He liked it…then hated that he liked it, then proceeded to scowl about both liking and hating it.

That is until she looked up at him from sharpening the hunting knife he had given her and give him a secretive little smile.

"Come here." He sighed, putting his cross bow down. She slipped over to him and sat on the log, letting him take the smooth sharpening stone and knife from her hands. He angled it towards her eye line so she could see and sharpened it properly, ignoring how Shane looked up to see what they were doing. "Like that. Way ya were doing it yer likely ta bend the blade."

Piper nodded and took it out, glancing up at him for confirmation that she was doing it right. Daryl nodded and glared behind her to where Shane, Lori, Andrea and Amy were watching with poorly veiled interest. He ground his teeth, knowing that, even if it was annoying, the women were concerned. Shane though was a different story.

Piper furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Daryl's face before turning over her shoulder to follow his eye line. She turned her head down when she saw the group looking at them before licking her lip and turned back to the red neck. She stood up and, at first he thought that she was just going to go into her tent early to get away. Instead she took his hand and tried to pull him to his feet.

Daryl finally complied with a grunt and let her lead him away. "Girl…" He growled as they walked. "Getting late out here. Bound ta be walkers around."

Piper stopped, turning around to face him and looked at him closely. "Walkers don't worry me….people do." He gave her a slow nod. "Teach me?" She asked him.

"Huh?" He didn't understand. For the first time he didn't understand what she was doing.

Piper looked deep into the woods for a moment to their sides before looking right back at him, his blue eyes staring at her, fringed cold, just like they always were. She wasn't fooled though. He could play as cold as he wanted to but he had saved her…then resurrected her. She wasn't totally healed, she doubted that she ever would be, but he had definitely put her on the right track for this kind of world. "I want to know everything. Teach me everything."

Daryl looked at her sharply, snorting. He hadn't missed her slight northern accent, or how slim and petite her body was. "Ya aint no hunter." He told her calmly, looking her up and down again, still patched with white gauze and bandages. "And I sure as hell aint no teacher."

"No I'm not." She said honestly. Her past profession had been nothing like this but it had taught her how to deal with pain. "But I am a fast learner. I need to be a survivor now more then ever."

Daryl stepped in closer now, sliding in between frustration, anger and curiosity. "I'll tell ya what ya are Piper: Yer rabid." She raised an eyebrow at him in the darkness, confused. "They don't see it in ya cause they aint never seen a person in the place where ya are now. But I can see it; all those little muscles of yers clenching, ready to strike. Yer uncontrollable. Yer like a dog tryin' ta survive…"

Piper frowned, knowing that he was right. She couldn't control her physical reactions to being looked at anymore. It was all the more reason why she needed this man to show her how. He wasn't protecting her, she didn't want him to. What she needed from him was the same thing that she had done down that ridge. She needed to cross that line from pretty little girl with a sadistic side to brutal.

Daryl watched the emotions play out on her face. She was thinking hard about what he said. Girl was probably more than offended. Calling some chick rabid wasn't exactly a good starting point in anything. But she still looked hard pressed to give up the things that she was now beginning to understand were essential, not only for survival but for her physiological well-being. "That aint what you want. Ya don't want ta be my bitch."

She looked up at him sharply her green eyes on fire now. "Then just do us both a favor and put me down before I kill the next guy who tries to touch me."

Daryl looked at her seriously. This was so bad. He didn't want to be her executioner. He wanted to save her. She was so strong. He could see it in her face, her stance, the way she had just ripped that sicko open.

"Yer goin' ta come huntin' with me tomorrow." He told her finally. "Ya ever hunted before?" She shook her head slowly. Of course she hadn't, but it wasn't that big of a problem. He had already helped her make her first kill.

In some part of his mind he knew that they should both feel guilty, gutting someone like that, but he wasn't. Not at all. It was like putting down a deranged animal. He just had to make sure that she was on a tight leash and not the next rabid animal he had to put down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who is reviewing, following and fav-ing this story! I love the responses that I'm getting!**

**Chapter 4: Scaring**

Piper held the line of squirrels and rabbits over her shoulder. Two months ago she would have thought that it was disgusting…sickening to feel the dead, furry creatures jolting against her leg as she treaded through the steaming woods.

Daryl was still in front of her, his eyes following a rabbit that was sitting in the clearing. He wasn't actually telling her to do anything but she was still learning, watching his lean body stay low to the ground, the way he moved his feet in the heavy leather boots, the way his eyes stalked and his body followed their lead. She mimicked to motions, feeling the familiar choreography become natural and easy. She could see beads of sweet running down the back of his tanned neck. At least she wasn't the only one.

Daryl raised his hand and she knelt to the ground as he motioned for him to come over to her, putting the string of meat down and slipping silently over to him. _Hands, _he mouthed and she laid her hands on top of his to mimicked how he was holding the bow, eyeing the rabbit in the grass. He weaved his fingers through hers. Her body muscles tightening as he slipped her hands under his.

He felt it and looked down into her face. Her eyes were closed in concentration. He knew that the concentration was so that she wouldn't try to kill him.

"Piper…" He whispered so that he wouldn't scare off his target. "It's me…it's Daryl. Aint gunna hurt ya. Wouldn't hurt ya. Relax." He felt her muscles uncoiling as she listened to his voice, taking it in, hearing the words, analyzing his tone. She opened her eyes and nodded, gulping down her fear. "Yer holdin' it right girl. I'm gunna pull the trigger and aim it. Focus on where yer hands are. It's gunna push back. Ya ready?"

She nodded and felt him aiming the bow, watching the rabbit as they both shot. The arrow went flying with a zigging sound as she felt herself being pushed back into him, his strong chest against her back as the arrow went through the rabbit. She breathed hard as she was pressed against him, dropping the bow in front of them with a clatter. She breathed hard.

Daryl felt the panic rising in her, radiating off her body. He could practically smell it on her. He put his hands on her arms lighting as she sat in between his knees. This was the closest she had been to a person since her attack, the most bodily contact that she had experienced in this new world. "Stop." He told her sternly but he felt tremors starting to form and goose bumps of fear littering her skin in the hot Georgia air. "Now." He tried. "Say it. Say it now."

She closed her eyes and focused on the memory of the words, on the visions it brought with them. "I killed him." She whispered.

Daryl put his forehead against her hair as if to help her focus. "Again."

"I killed him." Blood and vengeance. Power and control. Liberation.

He nodded against her. "Go get yer rabbit." He muttered and she pulled herself up from between his legs quickly. She grabbed the rabbit by the ears from the ground and turned back to where he still sat on the ground, watching her. Her eyes were filled with panic, but she was trying to push it down. "Enough fer today."

She nodded slowly, looking at him and gulping down her shame. That was Daryl. Her fucked up demon guardian. She hated that she was afraid of him at that moment. He was the one man that she shouldn't be afraid of. She wanted him to be close to her. She trusted him. So why was her body having this reaction? Gulping down her fear and shame, she held out the rabbit to him. He was careful not to touch her as he took it, making her turn away ashamed and angry with herself.

* * *

Piper walked through the camp feeling drained and emotionally torn to shreds. She deposited the catch by the two buckets, one with water for cleaning and one empty one for gutting. She looked at the water bucket, putting together a memory of Andrea and Lori pulling glass out of her whole body, water turning a murky red as each shred was extracted. She closed her eyes and repeated Daryl's mantra over and over again in her head. _I killed him. I killed him. I killed him._

She jerked harshly when she felt a hand on her shoulder over one of her bandages. She turned and jumped away like a little cat when she saw see a heavier man in a sleeveless blue shirt grinning at her with dirty teeth.

"Who are ya pretty thing? Didn't see ya around when I was home last." Of course she didn't answer him and he smirked. "Not a chatter huh? I like that." He licked his lips as he looked at her making a sound of vulgar appreciation as he looked over her body. "Small titties but I can deal with that."

He reached out and her body took control. She pulled the hunting knife and charged him as he came closer. It was lightning fast, neither knowing what was happening as she slammed him into the back of the RV, hunting knife at his throat.

"Oh shit!" Shane yelled drawing everyone's attention. They ran to the back of the Winnebago but none of them wanted to get to close. Both of these people were dangerous.

Daryl ran over, yanking a new shirt over his shoulders as he heard the screams and picking up his cross bow. When he saw what was going on he lowered it slowly. "Merle! Where the fuck have ya been!" He yelled when he saw his brother being held at knife point.

"Told ya little bro. Had ta go get some more shit!" Merle gasped out looking at his brother's huge blade being pressed to his throat by the whips of a girl. "Something ya want ta tell me Darylina?" Piper tensed up even more at the sound of Daryl being made fun of and she pressed the newly sharpened knife harder into his throat, breathing hard. "What the fuck! Get this crazy bitch off me!"

Daryl felt his eyes narrowing. "Did ya touch her?"

"Who the hell cares! Get her off me!" Merle bellowed.

"Girl." Shane yelled at her, but she was focused on Merle, defending herself, not letting her assailant out of her sight. Her were eyes locked on him, not willing to let him get the upper hand. If he reached out or jerked away she would slice his throat wide open.

"Piper!" Daryl yelled without thinking. All of the eyes in the camp shot to him, shocked. He hated being the center of attention, hated when they all looked at him. Most of all he hated that he had just outed her because of his ass hole brother. "Girl…come here." He watched as she tensed more. "Now!" He barked at her sharply.

Piper pulled back hard, still holding the knife so tight that her knuckles turned white. She backed away from Merle as he put a large hand to his throat where the knife had been. He reached out and beckoned her behind him. "That's my brother." He told her sternly. Her eyes widened. No…no that was not possible. She didn't want that to be possible.

"Did he touch ya?" He murmured down to her. She nodded quickly. "I get it."

His brother watched angrily. "What the fuck lil bro?"

"She don't like being touched." Daryl told him. "Ya've been gone fer a full month on a damn bender Merle. What the fuck is that about?"

"Forget that!" Shane yelled. He really didn't care about Merle being back. It was just another ass to deal with. "Piper? You know her name and you didn't tell us she was talking?" He looked at the girl at Daryl's side, her arms crossed over her protectively, eye's still full of fire and dissipating panic. "You're talking now?" His voice growled out at her angrily.

A silence had fallen over the camp as they all waited for her to own up. "Just to him." She said quietly, nodding to Daryl.

"We've been feeding you and taking care of you!" Shane yelled at her. "And you don't even bother to tell us you're name!"

Lori stepped up and put a thin hand on Shane's tensed shoulders. "Shane…its okay. She just needed time."

"Screw ya cop!" Daryl yelled. "I been taking care of her! I been feedin her! I been healin' her!" He looked over to where his brother was grinning lecherously at the last statement. "Not like that Merle! Ya'll just mind yer own business! She aint gotta talk ta no one she don't wanna. I got better things ta do then deal wit yer shit!"

He looked down as Piper touched his arm to draw his attention. Her big green eyes looked up at him, asking him one of those silent questions. He nodded at her quickly and she retreated to her tent with unmatched speed.

"Hey!" Shane yelled after her. "We're not done!" Lori and Andrea pleaded with him to let her go; that it was fine and she would talk to them when she was ready but he ignored them.

"Yeah ya are." Daryl stepped in front of him with a hard look.

She could hear yelling outside the tent. First it was Shane and Daryl, their gruff voices angry. It led to Daryl blowing Shane off with a string of curses. A few minutes later it switched to Daryl and 'Merle'. She shivered at the sound of his voice and the thought of his name. He was Daryl's brother sure, but she still wished that she had at least nicked him.

"What the fuck!" Daryl was yelling at his brother. "Ya've been doped up runnin' around fer a month!"

"An' I come back ta find ya wit a whore of yer own?" His brother laughed. "Don't sound like ya've been that much of a good boy either there! But hey, we all got ta have our little joy's in life."

"Good lord Merle! I aint fuckin' her! She's a rape victim! Christ!" Daryl yelled back. "Ya just keep away from her. Plenty of tail ta chase…ya aint gotta go fer a girl who'll rip ya apart."

"Well fuck. Didn't know she was damaged goods!" His brother laughed, making her cringe as she listened, closing her eyes tight and covering her ears. She didn't want to hear what Daryl had to say in return.

A few minutes later she took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see the tent flap unzipping. The cool night air blew in along with a head of scruffy dark hair. She drew her knees up to her and looked at Daryl as he ducked in.

She was curled up in a little ball looking at him, looking like her normal ball of taunt energy. "Can I?" He half asked, staying half in half out of the tent. She just stared at him so he came in anyway. "Don't pay him no mind Piper. He's still high." She just kept looking at him with giant eyes and he let out a frustrated sigh. "So we're back ta this? Ya aint gunna be talkin ta me no more?" She blinked at him for a moment and he rubbed his face with his hands. "Fuuuuck." He muttered into the dirty palms. No way she was going to trust him now. Not after his big brother had eye fucked her. She knew now. Knew he wasn't a good man. Knew that even though he had helped her find and kill her rapist, he was just trash. "FUCK! I should have fuckin' known." He turned to leave.

"Daryl." She breathed, stopping him in his tracks. He closed his eyes as he heard it. He had needed to hear it. God it sounded so good from her quiet lips. He turned back to her, looking over his broad shoulders. "Don't go. Please." She saw the way his eyes squinted, thinking that it was at the plea to stay.

He turned back to her fully and sat down across from her, keeping his distance as best he could in the confines of the small tent. "Ya aint never said my name before." He told her, trying to brush it off. She furrowed her eyebrows not having realized. He looked down as she stretched her legs out, jeans rolled up to mid calf. "Ya changed those yet?" He asked, looking at the crinkled bandages.

"No." She admitted. "Kind of been busy trying to ignore all the yelling."

Daryl squinted down at her legs. "Told ya. Don't pay them no mind." He hesitated. "Ya need ta get those off. They're gross. All that dirt and shit. Ones on yer arms, chest an' shoulder too. Ya don't need no infections."

Piper nodded, watching his face as he looked over her, analyzing. "You do it." She said quietly.

Daryl looked up at her sharply. "Ya sure? We can get Lori or Andrea…"

Piper shook her head. She didn't want them here right now. She wanted Daryl to be there, wanted to get over her aversion to being touched. Daryl was the perfect man for that. He didn't look at her like the others. She knew that part of it was to make him more sure too. She didn't want him to be hurt by the fact that he couldn't touch her. It seemed to comfort his gruff mind that he was allowed near her.

"You do it." She repeated.

Daryl closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Just yer legs and arms." He told her firmly and she nodded. He glanced over, he saw his hunting knife and moving it out of her reach. It seemed to amuse her, a smile twitch taking over the sides of her lips.

He smirked too and reached out, taking one of her ankles to pull her leg out. He rolled the loose jean up to her knee and looked at the first bandages. Yeah, even if he hadn't wanted to someone would have needed to change these tonight. They were covered in dirt and then soaked with sweat from the day of hunting. He grabbed the corner of the now brown tape and pulled, looking at her face as he did it to make sure he didn't hurt her.

"Ya got some really strong legs." He told her, trying to ease the look of tension on her face. He looked down at her feet, seeing that she had bandaged up her toes again. He frowned. "Bastard broke yer toes too?" He asked. That just seemed un necessary.

Piper shook her head as he looked up at her. "No…those were broken a long time ago and just didn't heal right…well three of them. I wrap them so the skin wont rub together." Daryl was looking at her oddly. "I was a dancer." She told him.

Daryl thought about it for a moment. She sure as fuck wasn't an exotic dancer. She was too small, too cute. "What kinda dancer?"

"Pointe." She told him only receiving a confused look. It made her smile at him. She couldn't expect this man to know what she was talking about. "Ballet Daryl. I was a ballet dancer."

Daryl grunted and looked back down as he finished peeling off the first bandage, looking at the long nearly healed scab under in. He took the back of her leg in his hand, feeling how rock hard it was. He put it to the back of his mind and focused on the contusion. "Looks good." He murmured, moving to her other leg and repeating the process on another bandage. "Ya best not be tellin' people ya were a dancer. Most people from these parts aint gunna think about that fancy shit."

"Yeah I figured. They'll just start thinking about me naked."

He frowned down at his work, tossing the next bandage to the side. He looked at a wound higher up on her leg, running from just below her knee to just above it. It was on the outside of her leg but still higher than he could think about going. He didn't want to make her loose it again. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears as he contemplated what to do. "Nah, they'll just think of ya on a pole." He muttered, making her look away and blush. He didn't think he had ever seen her blush before. She was dark and he doubted she had enough blood in her body before this. "Do ya want ta do that one?" He asked, nodding down.

Piper looked at it and frowned. Come on, she scolded herself. "Go a head."

Daryl nodded and pulled the tape away fast, making her cringe but he wanted to get that over with for her as fast as he could. "Turn." He commanded.

Piper nodded and turned her back to him, closing her eyes as he came behind her, just as he had been that morning when her body had taken control during hunting. Daryl watched the muscles in her throat and pulse work. This was a bad idea…he knew that. "Just tell me if ya-"

"Just do it." She told him quickly, cutting him off. He started to pull the bandages off of her shoulders and back, taking in each one. There was one that was particularly disturbing on the space just below and between her shoulder and neck. It looked like someone had broken a beer bottle over it and then pushed the glass in. The scabs were multiple but not as big as the ones of her legs. They were a lot deeper though.

"Yer gunna scar a lot." He told her, knowing instantly that it was the wrong thing to say, watching her shoulders fall. "Hey hey. None of that. Yer gunna be just fine. All done with those."

Piper turned back to him, knowing that she could hide the forlorn expression in her eyes. She had been cut up everywhere. Some of the bandages on her arms and hands had already come off and they weren't too bad. She couldn't say the same from the rest of her body though. She wondered how bad it would be when she was totally healed. Would she just be covered from neck down with scar's?

Daryl watched the emotions play out on her face, seeing the way she was looking at the scaring on her shoulder, legs and arms. He didn't think they looked that bad. It was really just turning into raised bumps of skin for her. It wasn't like him. His scars were always angry looking.

"Don't freak." He told her after a minute of watching. He made sure to keep a firm grip on her eyes as he undid his torn up shirt and showed her his.

Piper inhaled sharply at the sight of them, littering his chest and shoulders. He took her wrist quickly and placed her hand on the long brown one across his chest that never really looked healed. She ran her fingers over it carefully with him looking down at her hand, his blue eyes darting up from time to time to watch her face with curiosity.

She didn't look disgusted…not in the least. In fact her couldn't even find pity in her eyes, a welcome change from the women he was used to. Instead she just looked curious, maybe even a little loving as she touched each scar carefully. His firm skin was warm and sticky from being outside except for his scar, cool and raised about the rest. She looked up at his face as she felt the muscles in his chest move under the plain.

"Yers aint gunna look nothing like this. Can already tell they'll heal a lot nicer." He said huskily to her. He'd never done that before. Never showed someone willingly. He felt angry, ashamed, freaked out. "I gotta go." He told her, pulling himself up from the ground.

Piper nodded as she watched him stand and quickly do the buttons of his flannel shirt back up. "Daryl?" She said before he could leave. He looked back at her, his face returning to its hard expression. He was no longer open for this tonight. He had to get back, make sure that Merle hadn't choked to death in his sleep. "Thank you."

He felt his hard expression fall immediately. Walking back over to her, he leaned down and grabbed her chin, forcing it up so that he could lean his forehead against hers. His breath came out shaky for a long minute before he placed his nose and lips into the crown of her head, inhaling her warm hair. Quickly he pushed himself back up and left.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who is following and faving this story! I've never gotten such a big responce in such few chapters so thank you!**

**GypsyWitchBaby****: Something tells me that small town bumpkin cop Shane wasn't all that used to dealing with traumatized rape victims long term. He strikes me more of the speed trap kind of cop to me! Even when watching the show I thought he could have used some sensitivity training. **

**Caffiend04****: Thank you! I love creating atmosphere in my stories, most of all since the show had so much! It just hangs in the air! **

**SaraLostInes****: Thank you! I'm trying hard not to make her heal to fast while still trying to make her strong! **

**Emberka-2012****: I think he just knows what trauma is. **

**jinxleah****: Yes they are! **

**Thank you to ****GatorGirl99****, ****JavaNut****,** **Origami88 and ****euhitz**** for their comments as well! **

**Chapter Five:**

"Just like before." Daryl muttered, towering over her. "Right down the middle."

Piper slid the knife down, surprised at how little strength she had to use to cut into the animals chest. She knew what he was muttering about. It had to be part of the reason why he had given so easy to her demand to learn how to hunt, kill and gut…because he had already seen her do it once. Her hands were sweating under the two large work gloves as she thought about it.

"Now just reach in, scoop all them intestines out."

Daryl watched her do it, critically looking for anything that she could have down wrong. She was right about one thing, she was a fast learner. She had watched him gut a few of the animals and mimicked his motions next to perfectly; elbows out, eyes focused, muscle's taunt. She was like a tiny, prettier version of him.

She had chosen not to replace the bandages on her arms and chest, letting the healed or almost healed places air out and get some sun. One or two of the deeper ones were still open but the rest were just little marks on her otherwise perfect skin. He was having a hard time with it. She was becoming prettier and prettier every day and he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

She looked back up at him as she dumped the guts into the waiting bucket and let him inspect her work. He gave her a little nod, looking over as Merle came out of their tent, strung out as hell.

Piper looked up to as he came over to them. "Mornin' kids." He grumbled, giving Piper a single look as she watched him cautiously. Her eyes followed him out to the woods as he went to relieve himself.

Daryl glanced down at her. "Don't worry. He aint ever gunna touch ya again." He assured her as she chewed on her bottom lip cutely. He picked up the rabbit and dunked it into the bucket of water, cleaning the rest of it off before hanging it on a rear by branch.

Piper looked back down as she stripped his too large, sticky work gloves from her tiny hands. "Damaged goods." She repeated dryly.

Daryl looked at her sharply before stomping back over to her, his boots making angry noises in the dirt as he squatted down in front of her and grabbed her chin with more force than he had intended. "Cause ya scared the livin' shit outta him yesterday girl. I don't never wanna hear ya call yerself that again. Hear me?" His throaty voice ground out. He hated that she thought that. Jesus, she was beautiful even torn up and wild! It just plane pissed him off when his thoughts were filled with her and his dreams were starting to be less about her injuries and more about her in general.

She watched him closely, trying to figure out what was going on his head but he let nothing but anger slip off onto his features. She didn't answer him, looking away instead. "I need to go and bathe." She pushed herself off the ground. "Do you know if anyone is down there?"

Daryl frowned at her lack of reaction. She thought she was damaged goods? Lord if that was so she was the best damaged goods he had ever seen. And what did that make him? "Take one of my shirts…ya can wash in that." He muttered.

Daryl sat on top of one of the rocks in the quarry, keeping a silent watch around the trails. He wasn't interested in walkers. He'd already seen Ed walking down, looking like the cat that ate the cannery so Daryl assumed he had heard that Piper was down here…probably naked. The moment he had seen the man with the cross bow, he had turned on his heels and practically ran back to camp, causing Daryl to grin to himself. He glanced down at Piper, who was swimming a few yard away from him in one of his too large button downs.

She treaded water, relishing in the cold of the liquid even if it stung her skin. She couldn't get enough of it. The only washing she had really had was rubbing herself down with a soaked rag. They didn't want to get blood into the water. Flailing backwards she dunked her whole head under the icy water, summer saulting several times just for the fun of it, her feet sticking out of the water.

Coming back up she looked at Daryl sitting on top of the rock as he quickly averted his eyes back to the paths. She frowned and studied his dirty profile for a moment. "Did your brother give you some of those scars?" She asked him suddenly, knowing that Daryl wasn't one for veiled questions.

He looked back over at her, annoyed by the question slightly. "One or two when we was kids." He finally admitted. He didn't want to tell her about his past or his broken home. Didn't want to tell her that for Merle to really hurt him he would have to have actually been there.

Piper tilted her head in consideration, licking her lips as she thought about holding the knife to the man's throat again. "Can I kill him?"

"No." Daryl said quickly, but he was grinning at the lightness with which she said it while playing with the strings on his cross bow. He watched as she swam around, flipping onto her back and floating for a moment, the hem of his shirt caught on one of the bandages still on her upper thigh. He cringed to himself as he realized he had been eyeing her up and had only noticed it when he hit evidence of her brutal attack. He turned back to his watch as he heard her splash lightly back to swimming. "Ya know, yer actually pretty good at killin." He said to distract himself.

Piper shrugged in the water before swimming over and resting her arms against one of the rocks that was lower in front of him. "Your tone says compliment but your words say 'sick puppy'." She told him, stretching out her limber limbs in the water.

Daryl rolled his eyes at the dog reference, she wasn't going to let him live down saying that she didn't want to be his bitch. He had actually thought it was clever at the time. "Was a compliment girl." He told her, making her smile against her arms.

A little wind blew through the quarry and he saw her wrinkle her button nose. "You know you're starting to get pretty ripe yourself." She told him. "Come to think of it I've never seen ya bathe."

"Ya never see me take a piss either." He told her gruffy and she laughed. "Think I liked ya better when ya weren't talkin."

Piper pushed herself off the rock and swam a foot or so further out, her green eyes calling him into the water. It looked so inviting, more than it ever had before. Her chestnut hair fanned out across the surface of the pool. "Come on Daryl." She told him.

He sighed at the sound of his name being called and pulled his shirt over his head, making a bed for his crossbow with it so that it wouldn't slide into the water. She smiled at him as he slid into the water, hissing at his body touching the cold water. She smiled at the sound and swam around him, relishing in the feel of her limbs stretching.

"Do you like to swim?" She asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Aint had much occasion…did it when I was a boy, tryin ta catch catfish."

"Catfish?" She asked. "You swim when you fish?"

Daryl grinned at her. "Ya aint never been noodling?"

Piper found that his grin was contagious. It was so rare and so handsome she couldn't help but smile back. "I've never even heard of that." She confessed.

Daryl smiled and started to get comfortable in the water, swimming around in circles with her. "It's when ya stick yer hand into a catfish's hole and let him bite yer hand ta pull him outta there! Where ya from Piper?" He asked her. She clearly wasn't from around here or anywhere in the south.

"New York." He chuckled hard at her response, the water lapping at his chest. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up country boy! We can't all be cross bow wielding, squirrel tracking, Georgia red necks."

He growled at her and splashed her lightly soaking her face and getting water in her mouth as she laughed. "Nah, some of us gotta be pretty lil' dancers." He didn't even know that the words had left his lips until they were out. His mind instantly whirled. Would she be scared of him now? Would she think that he was just another man?

Piper dunked her head back to get her soaking wet hair out of her face and to hide her little shiver at his words. She couldn't tell if it was in pleasure that despite her scars he still thought she was pretty or a shiver of fear. She brought her head back up to see him staring at her, waiting for her reaction.

"Piper I…" He stopped himself and shook his head, trying to clear it of the thoughts and words away, trying desperately not to look at her eyes. He already knew that they looked like, large and probably filled with panic. He closed his own as he heard a light splash and assumed that she was making a run of it.

Piper frowned as she saw his reaction to his own words, swimming slowly closer to him. He could stand out here but she still had to tread water, her little feet unable to touch the ground. She reached out one hand and tentatively stroked his jaw line with her thumb making his eyes dart back to her. "It's okay." She tried to assure him. "You're the only one who's allowed to say that to me though."

Daryl released the breath he was holding. "Why me girl?" He finally asked. He thought about what he had told himself the other day. She could touch him but he couldn't touch her. _Don't touch her. Don't ya dare touch her ya fuckin' pervert!_

Piper frowned at him. "Why not you?" She didn't like this view he had of himself. He acted like he didn't believe in himself at all! It was like he was the one who had been too weak to get away from someone and had been butchered.

Daryl tilted his neck to the side. "I aint the man ya think I-"

"You're exactly the man I think you are." She cut him off. "You saved me in those woods! You could have just left me there! You're the one who found that…man. You're the one who brought him to me and is helping me get over it. That's why Daryl!" She let her hand fall to over his pounding heart before pushing off of him and swimming to the shore.

He watched her climb out of the water, biting his thumb as he took in how the ratty blue shirt clung to her as she stepped onto the stone beach. Good lord he could have said so much more than that she was 'pretty'. Her soft little body didn't show many curves in normal cloths but in his wet shirt he could see the petite swell of her hips and strength in her legs, the way that each muscle in her was defined….

_Stop it! _He yelled at himself. No matter how much she joked or how well she killed so was still vulnerable, still injured. He refused to use the word 'damaged' in his head. All he could do was thank god for cold water right now.

Piper turned to him on the bank and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him. "You coming?" She asked.

Daryl gulped as he watched her. He wanted to but not in the way that she meant. He needed to get away, into the woods and have some time to himself. "I'll be there in a bit." He told her quickly.

Piper shrugged and set off, unknowingly giving him a great view of her rear end with the shirt plastered to it and along the tops of her thighs. He groaned after she had left and threw himself back into the water fully, wishing he could drowned in it. He swam over to the rocks he had left his bow on and pulled himself up on them with a grunt. Grabbing his cross bow and shirt, he trudged into the woods angrily.

Piper walked up to the camp, pulling on her jeans inside her tent and taking a deep breath. Why couldn't she have met Daryl Dixon before this happened? She ran her fingers through her wet hair, loving how clean it felt. She closed her eyes and wished that she could feel his fingers running through it. But that wasn't going to happen. She was too messed up to even let him touch her. Besides, how could he want to? She was 'damaged goods' as his own brother had pointed out.

She shook her head and pushed all of the thoughts and reactions away, stepping out of the tent to see Lori, Andrea and Carol getting ready to make dinner. She sighed and scratched the back of her neck, a habit from feeling the tape of her bandage there.

She nervously walked over to them, standing there in silence for a moment as they looked up at her. She stuck her hands in her back pockets as she shuffled back and forth on her feet. "Thank you." She finally said to them, making them all stand up fully in shock.

"Oh honey…" Andrea said. "You don't have to say anything. Shane was just being a dick."

Piper shook her head. Yeah, Shane was a total douch bag but she did need to do this. "No. I do. You guys cleaned me up and got all that glass out. It must have been…horrible. So thank you."

They all smiled at her, nodding. "We're just glad you're alright now." Lori told her, trying not to think about what they had seen in that tent or make Piper think about what she had experienced. "Why don't you help us get ready for dinner? It looks like you and Daryl have been catching a lot out there."

Piper nodded and picked up some of the plates.

"So," Andrea said as she watched the girl set up. "I've been wanting to ask you, what's with you and Daryl? He doesn't seem like the kind of guy a girl would want around after…you know."

Piper bit her lip and looked at the women. Girl talk. She could do this. She'd been around women her whole life. She'd spent 9 hours a day dancing with them, spent time sharing hotel rooms with them when they were out on tours. This should be easy right? "Nothing's 'with' us….I guess we're just friends."

Lori smiled at her. "Friends? Daryl doesn't have friends." She laughed. "At least you're just the first one I've ever seen him with."

Piper nodded, knowingly. "He just…I guess he's a comfort without coddling me." She felt herself shutting down. This was harder then she remembered it being.

Daryl leaned up against one of the trees in the woods, closing his eyes. He felt like such a sicko but couldn't stop thinking about her. His hand gripped around himself, gripping and pumping as he thought about her pouty little mouth, about her big green eyes, tight little curves. He tensed as he thought about how she only let him touch her; about how he had her trust. It was heady.

He knew that he shouldn't be doing this. He needed to keep focused on her as his little pet, not as someone he wanted wrapped around him. She couldn't do that…even if she could she wouldn't with him. Still he couldn't help himself as he imagined it was her gripping onto him.

He finally came forcefully into the rag he held in his other hand, hissing out a quiet "Giiiiiiiiirl."

"What the fuck?" Laughed a voice. He looked over to see Merle smoking a cigarette as he laughed at him mercilessly.

Daryl zipped up quickly with a growl of anger. "Shut up Merle!" He hissed.

He knew that his brother wouldn't stop though. "Who the hell were ya thinkin' about grippin' yer dick that tight ya pansy?" Daryl didn't answer and just started to walk away. "Oh it had ta be that piece of yers! Saw her walk into camp in yer shirt lookin all….wet."

"Don't Merle! Don't ya even think about her!" He growled at him.

Merle chuckled as he followed him, flicking ash into the brush that the humidity had managed to moisten. "Oh no worries lil' bro. After all that I bet her pussy is all kinds of torn up."

"Ya best shut up!" Daryl stormed off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Melissa: Thank you! I post pretty frequently in this and my Speaking to the Dead fan fic! Glad you're enjoying!**

**Leyshla Gisel: I go for unpredictable!**

**Emberka-2012: Hopefully they can!**

**SaraLostInes: Oh yeah! You can beat he will hold it over his head!**

**gypsykl79: I beat Daryl cant either!**

**jstarr713: I agree. When you have Merle around you can just make this great dichotomy. I love doing it! I'm really excited to see what they do with him in season three!**

**GypsyWitchBaby: I often wonder what would happen if one of the survivors was a therapist! Hey there's another great story idea!**

**Chapter Six:**

"One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three." Piper hummed to herself as she stood by the woods on the outskirts of the camp. She rested one hand on the rough bark of one of the trees on the outside of the camp. Her other hand stretched behind her back, gripping her ankle and bringing her foot up behind her head, working the tired muscles out and arching to extend her back. It was like relearning her body. A more torn up, stiffer, less complying set of muscles.

Her ankle popped and she cringed at the sound. That ankle had been the last straw on her career. She had broken it three times before. When she broke it the fourth time when she'd turned 24 it had been the last time. She was already getting a bit old to dance professionally.

She'd taken a job at the Georgia Ballet School under the artistic director as a teacher and choreographer for classical ballet and modern dance. She had thought that the change in worlds would be an adventure. She'd spent her entire life dancing in New York City Ballet. It would be fun. It would be different. She'd definitely gotten more then she had bargained for.

"Come on." She scolded herself. Keeping a firm grip on her ankle she removed her hand from the tree and stretched her torso down to linger her pointed fingers towards the grass covered ground. She smiled at the feel of the stretch, the welcomed pain, letting her hand drift down her elongated leg. She extended her leg up towards the sky, straight behind her head closing her eyes. She didn't see Daryl and Merle watching from the tailgate of the truck.

"Holy cow." Lori said, coming up behind her with Amy. "That's amazing!" Piper opened her eyes and let her leg drift down to the ground and rose up. She took a deep breath and turned to the women. "You were a dancer?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah. Ballet." She said quietly.

Lori smiled at her, knowing that she was still only using one word answers for most of her talking. "I always wanted to dance ballet. I did it when I was a little girl but never really had the focus to stay with it. No wonder you're so strong."

Piper glanced over when she heard Daryl clearing his throat and looking away from her. She looked quickly away from them too, turning back to Lori and Amy.

Merle laughed out loud at his brother's reaction, the way he shifted on the burning tail gate. "There's some more material for yer jackin' off lil brother." Daryl just grunted, trying his damnedist not to rise to the bait.

Lori followed her eye line before glancing back at her with a smile. "We were going to collect some mushrooms to go with dinner tonight. Care to join?"

Piper bit her lip as she thought about it, drawing Daryl's eyes again as his brother chuckled. She hadn't been out or alone with anyone besides Daryl. He wasn't sure if he liked it when she nodded and picked up one of the buckets. She looked over at him as he moved to stretch his neck. She could see his pulse pounding under the sweat and dirt as she gave him a little nod that she would be fine.

He looked back down quickly as he nicked his finger on the pen knife he was using to carve a new arrow with. "Mother fucker." He muttered to himself, sucking off the leak of red liquid. Served him right for being distracted. When he looked up again she had already slipped away into the woods.

Piper walked with Lori and Amy, finding a log and turning it over to find a batch of mushrooms growing on the bottom. She nodded over to them and they came over to check out her find, grinning broadly.

"You know, Glenn is going into the outskirts of town tomorrow for a run." Lori said. "You should think about going out with him…getting some stuff for you. Just figured you'd like the option."

Piper nodded lightly, thinking that she would love to get her hands on new cloths. None of the ones that she had fit, falling off her when she went out hunting. The way that Daryl had been starting to not make eye contact with her she was sure he would love to get her out of his hair for a day or two. She was pretty sure if Glenn didn't try and touch her she could do it. He was one of the maybe two men in this camp that seemed to understand that touching her was simply not an option, even in the most innocent of ways.

"I'll tell them." She said with a smile at the two women in the afternoon sun. Lori looked at the girl closely. She could see why the younger of the Dixon brothers was drawn in. She was born to be watched, her own little spotlight shinning in her green eyes despite everything.

Glenn handed Piper a plate at dinner, sure to keep his out fingers away from hers as she reached out to take it. Daryl walked up next to her and heaped a plate of food for himself, spitting the strand of grass he had been chewing onto the ground and starting to walk off.

Piper didn't move away though glancing over her shoulder at Daryl's back before looking at Glenn. "I want to go with you tomorrow." She said quietly.

It wasn't quiet enough. Daryl stopped in his tracks and looked back at them, shocked. He hadn't expected that. But then again he didn't expect her to hold Merle at knife point, hadn't expected her to be able to hunt.

Glenn looked back at Daryl as if for his approval. "Umm…I guess I could use the extra hand. It's only to the suburbs." He said when he got no answer from the tensed up Daryl.

Daryl ran his hand along the back of his neck, as Piper gave a little nod and turned back to him. She raised an eyebrow at his impassive look.

What the hell was wrong with her? She flinched at every touch but she was still willing to go out into the wild. It vaguely occurred to him that it was probably part of the reason why she had been out in the woods and vulnerable to start with.

* * *

Glenn felt like he had been talking for hours, his voice a non stop noise despite the silence of the world around them. Piper was very expressive but she still didn't talk much, answering sentences in one or two words. As they gathered supplies in the Super Target she seemed to get more comfortable, graduating to short sentences. The back of the car was loaded with canned goods and the few other supplies that they could find but the store had been raided already and was pretty sparse.

He glanced over at Piper who had her head leaned against the cool glass of the window, watching as the still and silent world passing by them. "Thanks for helping me with all of this stuff." He told her.

Piper nodded as she continued to look out the window, thinking about when they had left in the morning.

Daryl was already up, getting ready to go out hunting. He looked up at them as they got ready to take one of the cars. He grunted Glenn away before stepping close to Piper. He was tense, she could feel it. But he wasn't going to tell her not to go. That would just be too much emotion, too much careing. Reaching into the back of his pants he pulled out his gun, making sure it was loaded and ready.

"Take it." He told her, watching as she eyed the gun.

"Daryl…I can't. I've never…"

Daryl wasn't having any of it. "Safety on. Safety off." He showed her. "Point and shoot, just like the bow. Almost no recoil. Got it?" She nodded and he held it out to her. "Ya think yer in danger ya shoot. Ya think yer gunna get taken ya shoot." _Oh lord, please dont let her get taken, _he thought desperately.

She looked up at him, seeing his face trying to hide that he actually gave a damn. His eyebrows were dark furrows along a creased brow, his mouth tight, his pulse pounding in his neck. She didn't know what made her do it but she found herself pushing herself onto her toes and placing her hands on his shoulders, her lips brushing against his cheek. "I'll see you tonight Daryl." She whispered against his facial hair and cheek. It tickled her soft skin, making her smile slightly against him.

She pulled away quickly, not looking back as she shoved the gun into her waist band and climbed into the car with Glenn.

Piper sighed and opened her eyes. The area looked really familiar to her, rows of houses and manicured lawns rimming the street. She hadn't been in Georgia long but she knew this area well. "Stop the car."

"What?" Glen asked.

Piper started to open the door as he slowed the car down. "Stop the car! That's my house!" She told him as they pulled up to the old style farm house look alike that she had pointed at. She pushed the door open.

"Piper!" Glenn called after her. "This is a bad idea!" Daryl was going to kill him. He ran after the girl as she took the chipping, squeaking steps two at a time. She pushed in, finding the down stairs trashed. "Shit." He muttered, looking through the place. Photos were broken and turned over, chairs were moved hastily.

"I was at work when the outbreak hit." Piper muttered, walking over to one of the walls. She ran her hand down the old floral wall paper where she could see a spray of thin blood. Glancing down she saw a thick stain on the floor. "My roommates must have tried to put up a fight. Come on." They climbed the stair case, making the floor boards squeal. In the silence of the rest of the world it seemed louder than they should have been.

"Piper…we should go." Glenn hissed pointing his shot gun around wildly.

"Hold on." Piper told him. "I just got to Georgia. I didn't even unpack everything." She jolted the handle to her door open, letting them into the bright, sunny room.

Piper went right to the closet and began to pull out bags as Glenn looked around. She hadn't been kidding. There were very few things unpacked in the room. One or two pictures on the dressed ready to be hung up. Piper pulled now useless things out of one of her suit cases: hair drier, leotards…she couldn't part with one pair of ballet slippers. Glenn looked over to the other side of the room to see a bar bolted into the wall.

She looked up to see him looking at it. "Exercise bar." She told him. "Everyone who lived here danced professionally. The girl who lived here before me left it."

"Perfect target." Glenn muttered. She looked at him questioningly. "Bunch of young women living together…"

Piper frowned at him, her brows creasing as he looked around. "Don't say that," She finally whispered. She finished packing up the bag and zipped it shut full of clothing and bath supplies.

She moved into the bathroom and pulled out a big red medical supply kit that she kept there. Dancers were always sour and getting injured. She had always kept it fully stocked. "Here. Let's go." She told him. It was getting late and even though he wouldn't show it Piper knew that Daryl would be getting worried, moody and frustrated.

They started back down the stair case, dragging the bag behind them, hiding the sound of feet scruffling below.

"Wait." Glenn said, two steps from the bottom. "Wait I heard something." He dropped the first aid kit just as a walker came at him, tackling his body to the ground with a bone chilling thud.

"Glenn!" Piper pulled the gun from her waistband as Glenn used the shot gun to hold the walker in a torn up leotard off him. She fired it without thinking, just like Daryl said; point and shoot. The bullet went through the side of its head, exiting out the other. It fell on top of Glenn and he let out a grunt.

Piper rushed down the rest of the stairs and pulled the body off of the struggling man, turning it over so that she could see its face. The blond hair was covered with blood and dirt. She knelt over it and looked at the large bite in its thigh.

Glenn pulled himself up and grabbed the kit and the bag as he watched Piper look at the ozzing thigh. "Piper! Come on! We've got to go!"

Piper looked at the girl that she had started to work with closely, reaching out and stroking the hair away from the torn, dirty, grey face. "Oh Wendy…" She whispered. She had been like this for a while, dirty and covered with blood and flesh. "You got off easy…didn't you?"

Glenn looked out the door, making sure that they could get to the car. "Piper please!"

Piper looked up at him with big green eyes and he realized something with shock. She wasn't scared of walkers. It was just people.

* * *

A scream rocketed Daryl up out of his amazing dream. It was one of those weird dreams where he knew exactly what had happened without remembering it in the dream. Either way it had ended up with him and a certain little flexible brunette in the bed of his truck by one of the bonfire parties he used to go to during high school. Needless to say it wasn't something he wanted to be woken up from by a blood curtailing call back to the real world.

He grabbed his crossbow and ran out into the midnight air. Everyone else was up at the sound too. His grey blue eyes shifted around before settling one Pipers tent.

_No! _His mind screamed out. _No! No! No! _He ran to her tent and pushed into it to see her flailing around in her sleeping bag.

"Piper! PIPER!" He yelled, shaking her out of her nightmare as best he could while touching her as little as possible. She had been doing so well, talking with the other people, even letting Glenn put his hand on her shoulder, after she returned from her trip.

She woke with a start, eyes snapping open, full of horror. He pulled back, afraid that she would scratch or flail at him. But once she realized who it was, she threw herself at him instead and he instantly grabbed her back tight, holding her forcefully to his chest. "Hush. Hush up Piper!" He told her as her nails bit into the skin exposed by his half open shirt. She was shaking and there was nothing that he could do but clench her tighter.

Dales stuck his head in to see what all the racket was about, making Piper shake harder and claw at his chest.

"Get out!" Daryl bellowed at him. The old man stumbled back out of the tent quickly. Daryl looked back down at the girl before gripping her chin in his hand and looking into her hazy eyes. He was glad that they were in her private space. No one else could hear how he calmed her. "Say it!" He demanded.

Piper looked back up at him. "I killed him."

Daryl nodded, arms still tight. "You gutted him like an animal. Say it again."

"I killed him." Her voice was more sure this time.

"Again."

"I killed him."

"S' right." He muttered down to her, satisfied that she believed it now. "He aint ever gunna hurt ya again." He cupped the back of her head and brought her forehead to his. She always seemed to like that. It helped her focus. "Tell me what I want ta hear girl."

Piper let out a breath as she looked into his blue eyes. It was then he realized that she wasn't crying, not a single drop. She had just been shaking uncontrollably. "I'm not afraid." He nodded against her forehead before bringing her into his muscular chest again.

"Okay…okay." He murmured down to her. She clung onto him tight, little fingers gripping onto his pectoral's and burying her face in his neck. He looked down at her skin, seeing the thin lines of sweat on her exposed skin from her nightmare. "What the hell are ya wearing?" He finally laughed, trying to ease her tension and some of his.

Piper looked down at the pair of rubber ducky sleeping shorts. Daryl seemed to notice them too. They were extremely short, showing some of the bandages on her thigh. Daryl frowned as she tried to pull the shorts farther down. She hadn't expected anyone to see her in these shorts…ever again. It had just been so damned hot out.

Daryl grunted a 'stop' as she pulled away from him to yank the shorts farther down. He wanted desperately to tell her that she was still gorgeous; that she shouldn't be worried about it. He couldn't get the words out though. Instead he reached out slowly, watching her to make sure she was alright, and began to run his thumb along the lower side of the bandage. He let his eyes drift down to it and soothed the reddened skin with his fingers.

Tilting his head to the side he knew that she shouldn't be keeping the gauze on this long. It was probably mostly healed, as was evident by her other contusions. He let his fingers slip under the sticky tape to take it off.

"No." She quickly hissed out and he yanked his hand away. "No…no, you need to go." She told him, pushing him away and pulling her legs under the blankets.

"Piper…don't-"

Piper felt tears stinging her eyes as he looked at her, hurt. She didn't want him to see her like this. She never wanted him to see the scars and marks on her. They were horrible, disgusting! "Just get out!" She finally screamed.

"Fine!" Daryl felt fury and hate rising in him. In the back of his mind he knew that the anger wasn't at her but he wasn't good at keeping his rage in. "Ya wanna be like that ta everyone else whatever! But I aint like the guy who did this ta ya! I aint sick like that!" He yelled. He took a deep breath. "I don't need this shit!" He stormed out of the tent.


	7. Chapter 7

**GypsyWitchBaby****: I go more into why she doesn't want him to see the scars in this chapter…its kind of sad. Lord, that therapist would have so much work cut out for them! **

**SaraLostInes****: Lol gotta love icky Merle cause you can just make him say the most horrid things! I danced forever too but I'm only 4 foot 11 so everyone said I was too short to do it professionally. I still do it for fun. Whenever I'm writing this I have to put down my laptop and stretch! **

**Melissa: Yeah I think it would have been a lot easier to get bitten early on then to have to go through all of the emotional trauma of having to deal with this kind of situation. Most of all the situation that Piper had to go through. **

**vexingvixen7****: Thank you! I thought it was super bonding. **

**Caffiend04****: Its so sad but he's reminding her that its over! Thank good for bloody boondock saints style justice! **

**Thank you for all the reviews everyone! I know you'll enjoy this next chapter! ;P wink wink.**

**Chapter Seven: **

Three days. It had been raining for three god forsaken days. Everyone was staying in their tents or in the RV playing cards and Yatsey. It had only taken one day of being in the tent with Merle for Daryl to decide he would rather be sitting in the cab of his humid truck. There was only so much seeing his brother shoot up meth and masturbate that he could stand.

His eyes kept drifting to Pipers tent where he knew that she was holing up. He knew that she wasn't going to the RV because he could see the little lantern illuminate the tent once the darkness rolled over the quarry. Putting his hands behind his head and reclining the seat he tried to ignore the nagging thoughts to go and check on her. In fact he was trying to not think about her at all. He tried to not think about the way that her skin felt or that look of disgust in her eyes when she had told him to get out nights ago.

He glanced up when he heard a rapping on his window, only opening one pale blue eye. Glenn was standing outside, his head covered with a trash bag. Daryl growled and rolled down his window, irritated at the water that came running in. "What do ya want china men?" He asked.

Glenn shifted and handed him a few cans of fruit and beans. "Piper's been in her tent the whole time. Thought she might be hungry."

Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. "So why are ya brining it here?"

Glenn shrugged. "You're the only one she lets in there." He reminded him.

Daryl leaned back in the seat, tempted to throw the cans back at the boys head. "She don't want me in there neither."

Glenn looked curious but had the common sense not to inquire further. "Can you just try? Or at least put them outside and tell her they're there? Sometimes I don't think she hears people when they talk. It just goes right through her head."

Daryl rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. Oh, he knew that she heard them. She just ignored it sometimes. "FINE! Just don't come back out here botherin' me and shit again!" He watched as the boy nodded and made his way back through the pouring rain.

Daryl sighed to himself and ran his hands over his face, letting out a bellow of wordless frustration. Slowly he picked up the cans and yanked open his door, kicking it shut behind him with far more force than necessary. Trudging through the thick mud and the torrential rain he made his way over to her tent, passing and hearing his brother having way too much fun in their tent. It was going to smell like shit and sex in there when he finally decided to go back.

He pulled dirty boots off and tossed them to the side of the blanket she had put out in an attempt to keep the inside of the tent clean. "Piper!" He called through the nylon. "Comin' in." He didn't hear a response but went in anyway, looking around. She had pulled some of the stuff she had brought back from the bag, sitting on the blankets she used for a bed, looking at it. She was clad in a white thank top and the pair of duck shorts she had been wearing to bed the other night. He could still see that she had kept all of the bandages on to cover any scaring she might have. She clearly was not letting go of the fact that she didn't want anyone else to see them. She looked up at him questioningly, pulling one of the blankets around her legs. "Glenn wanted ya ta eat." He told her putting the cans down next to her.

Piper watched him as he ruffled some of the water out of his messy hair. It ran down his arms and already wet shirt, some of it settling in his collar bones. "Thanks." She said slowly, not knowing what else she could say.

Daryl nodded, shifting from foot to foot and biting his thumb. "Ya should go ta the RV or somethin'. They got games in there and shit."

She shook her head, making the waves of her hair dance over her shoulders. "I'm looking at some old photos I had in my bag." He nodded before turning to head back into the storm. "Why are you staying in your car?" She found herself asking, not ready for him to leave yet.

Daryl turned, taking the continuing of the conversation as an invitation to stay, and sat down across from her, stretching his legs out from being cramped into his cab for so long. "Merle's a sick son of a bitch. Only can take seeing him shoot up so many times."

"Charming." She sarcastically put in, making him grin.

He groaned a little as he tried to get himself comfortable.

"Here, give me your leg." He stretched out his leg to her and she grabbed his ankle and put her other hand on top of his knee, forcing it down and straight. "Keep your butt all the way on the ground." She told him as she slowly pulled. He felt it before he heard his hip pop and cursed. She released with a smile. "Feel better?"

"Now it does but that hurt like hell." He muttered testily, stretching his other leg out so she could pull that one too.

"I know, I know." She laughed as he grimaced. "Real men don't stretch and all that bull."

"Fuckin sadist." He muttered as she repeated the motion, even though that did help his legs and surprisingly his back a lot.

Piper smiled, growing comfortable that he wasn't going to explode because he was joking and leaned back as he reached over and took some of the photographers from in front of her. "I've been dancing for twenty years. I'd say sadist is probably an understatement."

He leafed through the stack, looking at photos of her dancing. She had been born to move, he realized. He didn't know a person could bend so much, get her legs so straight, get so high in the air. He looked at the girl in front of him over the photos as she took out another envelope. No wonder she was so good and hunting and getting through the woods with him; she was used to walking on air, mimicking motions. He looked back down as he came to another picture. It was of her upside down in some kind of jump.

Piper looked over at it and smile. "I love doing aerials." She told him with a large grin. "My mom was a gymnast so I used to try and throw tricks into the chorography…bit of a rebel thing I guess."

Daryl snorted. "Yeah, yer a real wild women."

"Shut up!" She laughed, trying to grab the photos back from him. Daryl grinned and wouldn't let her, continuing to look throw them. He didn't know why he was interested. He didn't give a damn about any of this shit. "Fine!" She sighed.

Daryl smirked and kept looking through the photos. God she was amazingly beautiful. There were a few pictures scattered in that weren't of her dancing and she looked so bright and happy in all of them, her smile so big he was sure it could have been a picture all in itself. Finding another of her out, he looked at the man closely. "Is that…Travis Beckum?"

Piper looked over at the picture of her and the man with a little smile. "Yeah, we went out a few times."

Daryl starred at her. "Travis Beckum? From the New York Giants?"

Piper shrugged grinning at his shocked face. Trust a red neck to know about NFL players. "Yeah…a friend set us up and it's easier to go out with other athletes because they understand training schedules."

Daryl looked at the picture of them at some fancy occasion. Piper looked unbelievably small next to the large man, wearing a purple short dress and looking like the kind of girl that should be on the arm of a professional athlete. "Good lord." He muttered. "Ya fucked Beckum?"

Piper made a face at him and snatched the picture away. "We only went out a few times. I did not 'fuck' him!" She retorted.

Daryl snorted. "I'm sorry…yer kind would probably say 'made love ta.'"

Piper laughed and threw a pillow at him. He caught it easily and tossed it out of her reach. "Like you even know what 'making love' is Daryl!"

He starred at her hard for a moment and she thought from the look on his face that maybe she'd gone too far. She took a deep breath as he leaned forward, crawling closer to her, settling so that he was right in front of her.

She didn't know…he knew that now. She didn't know what saying his name did to him after so long of not hearing it. His eyes drifted down to her lips as he heard the sharp intake of breath. "I'll learn." He muttered, reaching out so that his hand cupped her cheek. "This is as far as I go girl." He told her. If she wanted anymore she was going to have to be the one to move in. He was already crossing all kinds of boundaries just doing this, but he couldn't ignore those pouty 'kiss me' lips.

Piper looked at him watching her, eyes locking with his just like they had done the first time she had wobbled out of this tent. "I don't think-"

"It's just a kiss girl." He murmured huskily. "Aint gotta be nothing bigger than that."

Piper nodded as she watched his lips move, feeling his rough fingers touching her cheek. He waited, expecting her to pull away, hoping that she wouldn't. Even if she stayed where she was it was better than kicking him out. She was biting her lip as she thought about it, making him stare at it.

"I should go…" He murmured right before she leaned forward and touched her lips to his, taking him by surprise even though he had been wait for it for what seemed like hours.

His lips were unbelievably soft and warm, trying to be gentle but still trying to deepen the kiss. He felt like he was choking wither everything that he wanted, it rose in his gut and he kept having to scream at himself to take it easy. She was sweet at first, just four lips touching each other, caressing, trying to figure out if two of them were ready. She pulled away from him after a moment, her eyes still closed at he looked at her face, rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb in nervousness.

Piper opened her bright green eyes to him and he mentally caved in when he saw that she wasn't afraid. "Don't go." She whispered.

Daryl instantly pulled her closer with one hand while burying the fingers of his other in her hair. He kissed her hard this time, still tender but with far more passion, snaking his tongue along her bottom lip and into her warm, soft mouth. She gasped against him, feeling her stomach flip and turn uncontrollably. He held her close to his furnace like body, throwing the blanket away from her.

She broke away quickly, sudden fear sparking in her. "Daryl, don't…"

"I aint him." He looked at her sharply. "I aint gunna do that ta ya til yer ready. Ya understand?" She nodded quickly biting her now swollen lip again. "I just wanna see what ya look like without all these bandages on ya." He pulled away from her and began at the one of her mid thigh that had caused her to freak out the other night.

As he pulled it away, rough fingers scratching the sensitive skin underneath, she focused on his face, on the rain she could hear bombarding the tent. It was pulsing, making her thoughts run wild as she looked at him. He looked so different from the man that had done this to her, his thin lips pursing at the very idea of hurting her.

He finished and ran his fingers along the mark on her skin before moving up to one higher. She grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Don't be scared." He told her firmly.

Piper shook her head. "I'm not scared. I just don't want you to see them."

He looked at her questioningly. He'd seen her much worse. Much, much, much worse. "Why?" He prodded.

"I don't want you to be reminded; to think of me like you did when you found me." She looked to her side. "I want you to think about me the way you see me in those pictures."

Daryl pulled her hand away from his wrist and kissed her hard again. He didn't want to think about her like the girl in the pictures. That hotty wouldn't have given him the time of day. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck as he invaded her mouth with his tongue, trying to make the point that he didn't care about the stupid scars she seemed so worried about.

He broke away suddenly. "I'm gunna think of ya out in the woods with me huntin." He told her. "Gunna think of ya stretchin' on that tree like the other day." She smiled slightly at him and pecked his lips again. He grinned at the playfulness, finding that he really liked kissing her full lips.

Daryl back on the bed with her against his side once he had pulled all of her bandages off. It was dark outside by now, a single small lantern illuminating the tent and the two of them inside. He was taking a great amount of time and amusement from running his fingers along all of the skin that he had exposed. He felt her shiver against his side at certain points but could also feel her lips smiling against his chest.

"Strong girl." He murmured down to her. She shook her head negative and he smirked. "Yeah ya are. Goin' through all of that but then comin out huntin, goin' inta town, killin walkers, holdin Merle at knife point." He laughed. "Yer a strong lil thing."

Piper smiled as she heard his voice murmur in and out of consciousness. "Why didn't you kill him yourself? That man?" She asked, resting her arms on his chest and her head on top of them.

Daryl put the hand he was using to touch her behind his head. "Wanted ta. Wanted it real bad, but ya needed to end him yerself ta know it was over. Ya regret it?"

She shook her head no, her hair tickling his chest. He closed his eyes. He wanted to be inside her so bad right now, he could barely stand it. But he knew that there was no way in hell that was going to happen tonight. He didn't know how long it would take but when it did he would be the first in line. He wasn't like his brother. This wasn't about tapping some chick he thought was hot. He could wait. Now that he knew what she tasted like it was going to be that much better just to think about her when he was alone. He could deal with that for a while.

"The rains slowing down." She said softly, wondering how this was going to play out. He gave a grunt of acknowledgement. "Are you going to the truck or the tent?"

Daryl opened his eyes and starred at the ceiling, reaching up to rub his nose and nibble at his thumb nail. "Kinda like where I am." He mumbled.

Piper smiled to herself and rested her head all the way down, feeling his heart beat echoing the slowing rain, calling her to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing this story! Melissa, ****gypsykl79****, ****vexingvixen7****, ****Emberka-2012****, ****, ****GatorGirl99****,****Leyshla Gisel****, ****jstarr713****,****JavaNut****,****jinxleah****, ****GypsyWitchBaby****. **

**Thank you to everyone who is following and fav-ing this story too! Be sure to comment so that other people know to read it! **

**A special thanks to ****gurl3677**** who has been pimping out my stories! I'm glad you are enjoying it and the rest of my stories! I think that that scene was all kinds of hot! Yumm…I want to walk in on him while he's doing that! **

**I am going to start posting my favorite lines from the chapters. Enjoy. **

**My fav line of this chapter: _"Call him a homo again Merle. See what happens." _**

**Chapter 8:**

Daryl woke in the early morning. It was still dark outside and the rain had totally stopped its assault on the tent. He looked down, finding Piper still laying next to him, her face pressed against his side adorably. Her little fingers latched onto his shirt, fingers squeezing the fabric. He licked his lips as she made a little moan in her sleep, the warmth of her breath flowing through the worn fabric of his shirt and onto his skin.

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, feeling how embarrassingly hard he was. "For Christ sake…" He muttered to himself, untangling his body from hers and sticking a pillow under her head as she shifted, burying her face into the pillow and sighing. He bit at his cuticle as he watched her for a moment, not sure what to do. She just looked so damn innocent laying there. Still, he knew that she was the same girl he had helped gut a human being, the same girl who was capable of great violence. But right now she looked like the dancer in those photos. He didn't know which version he liked more.

Leaning down he brushed her hair away from the side of her face and pressed his lips to the soft skin behind her ear. He felt her stir again and tense up. "It's me." He murmured quickly.

She relaxed back and turned over to look up at him, her green eyes blinking groggily, studying his face.

She'd been dreaming about Daryl and was having a hard time ignoring the way her thighs were clenched and the thin line of sweat over her body. He'd been removing her bandages just like before but instead of just touching the healing skin, his lips, tongue and facial hair skimmed over every sensitive inch. She shivered at the memory of the dream as the subject of it leaned over her, his blue eyes burning into her just like they had in the dream. It was the first night that hadn't been filled with violence and blood. She was more than looking forward to more.

"Are you leaving?" She asked him, her voice lined with sleep.

Daryl nodded. "Gotta take a piss. Didn't wanna wake ya." He muttered, turning away from her to grab his boots so that she wouldn't see anything she didn't like. There was no way she needed to know how much of a turn on having her sleeping and moaning against his skin was.

Piper sat up on her elbows, rubbing her eyes. "Are you going to come back?" She asked, making him glance back at her. Her voice was full of so much emotion and want. She clearly wanted him there. Worry rimmed the edges of her eyes as she looked at him. Was he regretting it now that he knew just how deep her physiological wounds were?

"Should get an early start on huntin this mornin'. Gunna be tough cause of all this rain. Looks like it might pick up again ta." He told her, lacing his boots up. He heard her moving around behind him, looking back sharply to see her pulling a pair of dark jeans and a white tank top out of her bag. "No, no. Ya should just stay here and rest." He bit his lip as he watched her look down, clearly seeing the rejection in her face. She was such an open book; so raw with emotion. He sighed and pulled his boots off again, tossing them back outside hastily.

Piper watched as he crawled back over to the bed. "I thought you needed to pee."

"I'll hold it." He muttered, pulling her back down. He brushed the mussed up hair away from her face as she lay facing him. Her mind was begging him to kiss her again, to pull her close and love on her, but that wasn't the man that he was. He slipped his arm under her head so that she was resting on it and watched her fall back asleep.

* * *

Piper focused on the target that Daryl had set up against one of the trees, a big "x" made with mud. She looked at the knife in her hand and frowned. "It's too big!" She told Daryl standing at her side.

Daryl shook his head. "It aint." He told her. "Don't make excuses. Just throw the damn knife." Piper scrunched up her nose and glared at him. Daryl glared at her back before grabbing the knife out of her hand and throwing it hard, landing it right in the center of his target. He looked back at her as she starred at his smug expression. "Try it again." He commanded.

She went and retrieved the knife, bracing his leg on the tree to pull the embedded length out with a grunt. She walked back over to him as he tried to hide his smirk with his fingers to his mouth. Looking back at the target she hurled the knife. It hit the target with a clank and fell to the ground without sticking.

"Dammit." She muttered.

Daryl grinned to himself, pleased that she had hit the target even if the knife hadn't stuck. He was impressed by her marksmanship. Then again doing all of those flips and moves probably had a lot to do with spatial reasoning. "Good girl for hitting it."

"I'm not strong enough." She told him bluntly. "I wasn't strong enough to defend myself against_ him_ and I'm not strong enough now." She muttered the last part more to herself.

Daryl growled and stalked up to her. "Ya know very well that it takes nothin' ta rip inta a person." He muttered to her. "'Sides," He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the pictures he had snagged of her. "This girl; she ever say she wasn't strong enough?"

Piper looked at the picture and sighed, exasperated. "Point made teacher." She told him, grabbing the picture away from him. "Why do you have this anyway!"

"Probably ta look at while he's out playin' with himself like a homo." Merle cackled as he walked by.

Daryl stared at him hard, his mouth dropping open. "What the fuck Merle!" He looked back at Piper as she stared after his brother too. "It aint like that. Just thought ya looked really…nice in that one."

"Call him a homo again Merle." Piper spat. "See what happens."

"While what da ya expect?" Merle chuckled. "He spent the night in yer tent and I'm willin to bet that yer little teasing butt didn't put out."

"MERLE!" Daryl bellowed.

Piper frowned and scratched the back of her neck nervously as she looked away. After kissing her last night she knew that he liked her in a physical way but he said he wasn't going to try anything until she was ready. She just hated that she wasn't; that she couldn't give him what he needed.

Daryl gulped down his annoyance at his brother and looked at her cautiously. "Piper…"

"I've got to go." She muttered, turning away.

Daryl watched her leave with wide eyes, irritation eating away inside of his gut. "What the hell Merle?" He yelled at his grinning brother.

Merle was watching Pipers ass as she walked away from them. "Just tryin' to give her some incentive lil brother. If ya don't stick that soon yer gunna turn inta a fag."

Daryl growled in frustration, yanking at his hair as he stormed away to go after her. He followed her foot prints in the deep mud down the quarry. The lake was deep from all of the rain, glistening in the few rays peeking their way through the dense clouds. She was sitting on top of a rock, her long legs crossed in front of her.

"Girl…ya know better than ta wander off like this." He muttered, looking up at her. Her beautiful eyes were closed as she tilted her head up to look at the sky. "Merle's just bein' an asshole. Ya know that."

She looked down at him. "Was he lying?" She asked him.

Daryl sighed in frustration and leaned against the rock, biting his nail murderously. "I… yer just so…." He stopped and looked up at her. "Don't wanna talk about this girl." He told her seriously.

Piper sighed and leaned back on the rock. "I can't do this." She muttered, closing her eyes.

Daryl felt his chest clench and he climbed up on the rock with her. "Ya aint gotta do nothin'. Told ya that last night. Yer my girl an' everyone already knows it."

She shook her head, curls coming loose of the short French braid she had put it in that morning. "I can't be your women Daryl. I can't even do that with you."

Daryl frowned at her. "It aint about that!" He turned to her, totally facing her and grabbing her full attention. "Ya don't even know what bein' someone's women really means do ya?" She shook her head. "It means yer protected, that all them other guys know yer taken and wont touch ya. Means that I'm gunna be protectin ya an teachin' ya. Sound familiar?"

Piper pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she felt a few drops of moisture falling from the sky. He'd already been doing that, from the moment that she'd first staggered out of the tent. "I can't give you what you need." She said softly.

Daryl sighed. He was tempted to tell her that he didn't want her like that but it would be the biggest lie….ever. "Don't matter. What I need now is ta stay in yer tent while it rains with a beautiful woman. "

Piper nodded before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the picture, handing it back to him. He raised an eyebrow in question as he took it from her slender little hand. "You sure you don't want to go into the woods for some 'Daryl time' first?" She teased.

Daryl made an annoyed face at her though he was relieved that she wasn't put off or scared by his fantasies. "Shut up and come here." He grabbed her chin and pulled her to him, kissing her hard. He had just meant for it to take a second but her fingers gripped his shirt and held him there. He slipped his hand behind her neck as his tongue slide into her mouth, feeling out each corner and crevice as she gasped against him. He pulled her up and onto his lap, ignoring the small drops of rain that were starting to fall more evenly about them.

"This alright?" He asked against her lips. She answered him by covering his lips with hers again, her fingers digging into his chest. He let his hands wander to her waist as they pushed down against his, probably without her even knowing it. He groaned into her mouth, pulling away while still keeping her close. "Maybe I should be takin a walk." He muttered, making her smile shyly.

Piper brushed some of the raindrops off her cheek. "I think you waited too long." She looked up at the sky. "Looks like the sky is about to open up." Daryl looked up at it too, frowning. She bit her lip as she watched him, his face so close to hers. "Let's go back up to the tent…and keep doing this."

Daryl looked at her sharply. "Ya sure?"

His voice was so concerned that it made her giggle as she climbed off of him. "I want to get used to you touching me." She told him, pulling him up with her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to everyone who is commenting and following! Please tell your friends if you like it. This is probably the most feed back I have ever had on a story! I'm so in love with all of you right now!**

**Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. But it didn't make sense to put it anywhere else.**

**Favorite Line: **

"_**She tried to push to the back of her mind the memory of what she had done to the man on the tree; flashes of blood, guts, gore…and the divine feeling of safety that followed"**_

**Chapter Nine:**

Daryl liked the feel of being inside of Piper's small tent. It was warm and smelled good…like a home should smell. He had guided her to sit on top of him again as he leaned back, one arm behind his head and the other tracing out some of the dissipating scaring on her calf. She was smiling slightly as he traced around, finding the places that made her tense and soothing them with rough but feather like touches. He wondered if his hands were softer would she have the same tensed up reactions.

She seemed more comfortable on top of him, her hair loose and falling in curls from the weird braid she had put it in this morning. She'd been tensed straddling his hips at first, her nerves always on edge, but then she had started to feel more in control, less weak and fragile then under him. He didn't mind seeing her up there at all.

Piper watched as his fingers came up to the tops of her thighs, tracing out her most brutal scar that ran from the front all the way around to the inside. He hated that one. When he had found the other girl the artery there had been slashed. Her scar showed that it had only been a hair line away from the same thing happening to her.

"Why me?" She asked him quietly as he looked up at her. "You're so mean and gruff to everyone else but me. Why?"

Daryl sighed slightly as she started to unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt and run her delicate little fingers along his scars. "I dunno…guess I just get ya. Most girls would've shrunk back after what happened ta ya. Just kinda made ya wild…" He reached up and tilted her chin to him. "I like that."

Piper looked down at his scars as he spoke, running her fingers along them and watching goose bumps appear on the tough skin. She tilted her neck to the side as she watched the muscles under them move and the pulse in his neck quicken. His hand tightened around her thigh. "Don't say wild…" Daryl always meant what he said but she knew the real word for it. "Say dam-"

"Shut up!" He snapped quickly and with force. "Told ya I don't ever wanna hear ya say that."

"What did you say when Merle said it?" She asked as he sat up under her, propping his muscular body up with his arms. She wasn't scared of his angry outbursts, knowing that he wouldn't hurt her. He'd been trying to hard to gain her trust to just throw it away on something like that.

"Told him ta shut the fuck up," He told her sternly. "Just like I'm tellin ya now." He reached up and pushed the rebellious curls out of her face. "Yer wild…just like I want."

She smiled to herself and gave him a little push back to the ground, onto his back. Daryl had never met a girl that he couldn't sleep with that wanted to touch him as bad as he wanted to touch her. He closed his eyes as her fingers stroked and moved along his body, relaxing back into the blankets.

"I thought I was 'rabid.'" She told him, repeating his words. Daryl let out a guttural little chuckle, trying to hold onto his conscious thoughts. "I take it you're okay with letting me be 'Yer Bitch' now?" She imitated his accent.

"Think I can get used ta it." He murmured, bringing his hands back up to run across her arms as she tangling her fingers in his little bit of chest hair.

They settled like that for a while, touches becoming light and smooth as the rain pelted outside. Piper closed her eyes too. This was alright, nice even. Daryl's rough, well worked fingers were doing wonders for her, making her feel secure as he lingered on the parts of her that made her tense up and stroked them into submission. She was slowly and surely getting used to it.

"Carol and Morels' daughters asked me to give them dance lessons." She finally said after a while.

Daryl opened one eyes and looked up at her. He wouldn't mind seeing that. "Ya alright with that?" He asked her.

She nodded lightly. "I think it's kind of cute. A little bit of normal."

He nodded. "Give ya something ta do while I'm out huntin. Gunna have to go for a few days once this rain lets up…bag us some big game. Don't want ya out in the woods with me that long."

"Why's that?"

_Cause I'll be hella distracted if yer out there, _he thought. They would probably just spend the whole time like this. "Woman." He growled at her, reaching up and giving her hair a little tug to bring her face down to him. "Ya ask way too many questions." He kissed her hard to shut her up.

* * *

Daryl packed up his cross bow and the very little bit of supplies he would need for his hunt, glancing over at the tree line where Piper was teaching the two little girls some basic dance moves. She used her hands as imitation feet, showing the girls what she wanted them to do.

"Front, front, side, side, back, back. Then backwards: back, back, side, side, front, front." She told them. "Relevé means rise, so up on your toes, up through your ribs." She showed them, extending very high on her toes with her arms over her head, looking unbelievably graceful and coordinated. The two girls watched her with interest. "Turn," She turned and smiled, embarrassed as she saw Daryl watching them from the back of his truck, his dirty fingers over his lips as he tried not to chuckle. "Then pile, up with the fingers always pointed, flowing with your motions. Repeat."

Daryl walked over to them, rubbing the back of his head with a slight smirk at watching her. She was showing them the motions with her feet now, instructing them where to put their arms in each of the positions. Her bandaged toes skimmed the dirt, pointing straight and making her muscles tense under her jeans.

"Ballet is all about creating long lines so act like your fingers are connected to your toes… Something funny manly man?" She asked him as he stopped a few feet away from them. Sophia and the other girl giggled.

"Nah…nothin at all prissy girl."

She gave him a gentle slap on the chest and turned back to the girls. "Life lesson ladies: There are no hotter men out there then male dancers. All muscle." She raised an eyebrow at him, hoping he'd take the bait and would stay around a little bit longer, even if it was just to argue with her.

Daryl scoffed and pulled her a little bit away from the two girls. "None gayer neither." He prodded her on as she made a sound of irritation. "I'm bout ta leave…ya got yer knife?"

"In the tent." Piper wasn't exactly happy about this. She didn't want to spend days in camp without Daryl. When she was with him other people didn't try and talk to her.

Daryl nodded. "Keep it on ya…all the time 'kay?"

"Um hum." She said, glancing back at the two giggling girls who were trying to do the releve. She winced, used to teaching older dancers.

"I'm serious girl." Daryl muttered, glancing around them at all of the people he didn't trust, mostly Ed and Shane. Merle was planning to go on a scavenging trip soon so he didn't have to worry too much about that. "Ya know the drill. Ya feel threatened…"

"I know." She said quickly. "I can kill anyone but your brother."

Daryl grinned down at her while playing with a strand of her soft hair in between his fingers. "Good girl." He muttered. He wanted to kiss her again but he had way too much of a suburban imagine in his mind right now for him to do it in good conscious. He wasn't sure where the lines were anymore. Could he kiss her in public? "I'll be back." He told her instead. "Stay outta trouble."

Piper sighed as he walked away into the woods. "Always do." She muttered, sarcastically to herself before looking back at the girls. "Toes pointed!" She called, walking back over to them and clapping out a beat with her hands.

* * *

"Well, well, well." Piper looked up see Shane walking up to her and rolled her eyes. "If it isn't 'girl'. I'm surprised Daryl didn't take you with him."

She didn't say anything back and just went out sorting the cans of food so they would have room for whatever the scavenging party brought back. Sometimes Shane would do this. He would stand there and talk at her hoping that one day she would get comfortable and talk back. It hadn't happened yet. Finished up she stood from the ground and brushed off her jeans, avoiding Shane's eyes.

He braced his arm out against the side of the Winnabago, blocking her from leaving. She took a deep breath trying to push down any immediate reactions. "It seems to me we got something's we need to get clear about Piper." Shane said seriously. "I know that you think Dixon is the big man of this group, but he's not. I am. Got that? So you need to show me some respect."

Piper frowned at him hard, meeting his eyes but still not saying anything. It wasn't easy to ignore her impulse to grab Daryl's menacing hunting knife from her belt and gut the man. He just didn't seem to understand that boxing a young woman with a pointy object into a confined space was never a good idea.

Shane looked down at her and rubbed the back of his head under his cap. "I just don't get it Piper. you have started to talk to a lot of the people around here but not me. If Dixon is just trying to protect you why wont you put down roots with us?"

She wasn't even paying attention to his words right now. They didn't matter to her mind. The only thing that mattered was how close he was standing, how he was blocking her way, how his body language was designed to intimidate. She could definitely se Shane going too far. She tried to push to the back of her mind the memory of what she had done to the man on the tree; flashes of blood, guts, gore…and the divine feeling of safety that followed. She put her fingers to her temples and dispelled the notion as quickly as it had come.

Piper licked her lips before finally looking him straight in the eye, making him step back a bit at the intensity in the green orbs. "Daryl isn't protecting me from you." She told him bluntly. "He's protecting you from me. If you had blocked me in like this two weeks ago I would have cut your heart out. Now get out of my way Shane." She said through gritted teeth.

Shane starred at her in shock for a moment before dropping his arm and stepping to the side.

Piper let out a long shaky breath and passed him. He pressed up against the side of the vehicle, careful to get as much space in between them as possible.


	10. Chapter 10

**Catandogperson: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I'm trying to keep them in character as much as I can while still opening a bit.**

**vexingvixen7: I bet he did pee his tighty whitey's!**

**Caffiend04: I think he did understand that it was the only way that he was going to be able to keep her close to him. He understands abuse and she is still so raw that I think he knows.**

**Leyshla Gisel & Emberka-2012: She's so small that I don't think Shane realizes that she's like a caged animal and she will bite!**

**gypsykl79: Me too but I can't believe he waited that long. Every episode I was screaming at the TV "Come on Rick! Danger! Danger!"**

**gurl3677: I really liked the stroked them into submission line. It's so perfect for Daryl!**

**Melissa: I thought while watching the show that Shane just really wanted to be the leader and couldn't stand it when someone was loyal to someone else.**

**Thank you for all the comments: GatorGirl99, GypsyWitchBaby, JavaNut, SaraLostInes, jstarr713, jinxleah and LoyalAsAViking.**

**I know that this chapter isn't as eventful as the others but I needed to write it to get where I am going.**

**Favorate Line: _ "I think if he wouldn't let me kill him, he's definitely not going to be alright with you doing it._"**

**Chapter Ten:**

Piper stood up as she saw the van and car pull into the camp, frowning as she instinctively reached for her knife. Everyone else rushed over in a blur of motion and excitement despite the heat of the day. Families reunited and hugged each other, holding the other one close. She looked at the one man that came out of the cube van, hugging Lori and Carl tightly and crying.

She looked around closely, watching people's reactions before taking her hand away from her knife and sticking them in her back pockets instead. _Control Piper, _She reminded herself. Just because Daryl said that she could kill anyone didn't mean that she should at this moment.

Glenn smiled and walked up to her. "You doing okay?" He asked her. Glenn knew that he still wasn't really allowed to touch her but she talked to him more than most of the others. In fact she was the only one she had full conversations with besides Daryl and the children.

Piper nodded quickly, glancing at the new man carefully, cautiously. "Nice car…Where's Merle?" She asked, turning back the Asian boy. Glenn bit his lip and looked away, making Piper inhale sharply, understanding the situation right away. She didn't like Merle…not one bit but she understood that he was still his brother; that all hell was about to break. "Oh…Daryl's going to be pissed. That's going to be really bad."

Glenn nodded and winced, looking over her shoulder. "Don't freak." He told her quietly. Piper raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder to see the new man coming over to them. "He's nice, I promise."

Piper watched as he came towards them with easy confident steps, his blue eyes shining but red from crying at the sight of his lost family. His face was soft and scruffy. He reminded her vaguely of a cleaner, softer Daryl. It had to be the kind blue eyes. But she still felt herself tensing up at the presence of a stranger.

"Glenn," The man greeted, shaking the young man's hand. Glenn was smiling at him brightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He looked at her as she sized him up, trying to figure out whether he was a threat or not. "Hi there. I'm Rick." He extended his hand to her and Piper stepped back warily, staring at his hand. "Um…Shane's old partner?" He tried. Piper instantly frowned and went on defense, taking another little step back. She did not want there to be two of them.

"Piper…" Glenn tried. "I told you. He's okay." He frowned as Piper and Rick starred at each other, Rick curiously and Piper carefully. He just thanked god that she hadn't gone for her knife yet. "I'm sorry man." Glenn apologized for her as Lori rushed over. "I should have told you before. She doesn't really talk until she gets comfortable with you and doesn't like being touched."

"Piper sweetie." Lori said, looking at the girls tensed body. "It's okay. This is my husband. He's not going to touch you."

Rick nodded quickly, lowering his hand and tucking it into his pocket with a sympathetic smile at her.. "It's nice to meet you Piper." He said kindly. She bit her lip lightly and nodded before giving him a final, apprizing once over, turning and walking away. "Wow." Rick muttered watching her leave. "Is she alright?"

Lori nodded with a sigh. "Actually she's getting a lot better, believe it or not. One of the men found her in the woods and some guy had beaten, cut and rapped her within an inch of her life. She's really just starting to talk to all of us and the guy who found her is the only one she'll let touch her."

Rick nodded, understanding. "Who found her? Shane?"

Glenn frowned and stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly. "Daryl Dixon." He muttered.

* * *

Piper sat with Glenn at dinner as everyone talked and listened to Rick's story. She was focused on the people, the body language. Her mind was running through scenarios in the cooling night air. Shane, for the first time that she had been there, was not focusing his anger on her. His tensed body was watching Rick and Lori instead. She looked down at her plate, determined to not be noticed.

"Has anyone given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale brought up. Piper kept her eyes focused on her plate at the sound of his name.

Glenn glanced over at her as the conversation ensued. She was keeping her head down but was clearly listening. They all kept glancing at her from time to time until finally it was the new guy that spoke. She looked up at the gentleness of his voice. He was clearly the more sensitive of the two officers. It was probably one of the reasons why they had been partnered up. Shane was intimidating and rough around the edges and Rick was there to sooth the wounds and gain your trust.

"Piper," Rick murmured. "You're close to Daryl right? What do you think?"

Piper looked at him before glancing around at the rest of the group. It always felt like they were waiting on words from god when she spoke because they so seldom heard it, especially in the large group. She swallowed her food before looking back directly at Rick. "I think if he wouldn't let me kill him, he's definitely not going to be alright with you doing it." She pushed herself up from the log she was sitting on and walked back to her tent.

Flailing herself back on the blankets, she sighed, taking off her belt and the knife and putting it beside her. With a sound of exhaustion she cast her arms over her head. She both dreaded and wanted Daryl back. He was going to freak out when he found out that his brother had been left behind. All the same she didn't feel as safe without him here.

She had never been dependent before this happened. Truth be told she didn't think she was all that dependent on him now. She wanted him there yes, but she was quickly realizing that she could handle herself too.

Groaning she turned herself over on the blanket and inhaled their combined scents, kicking herself for wanting someone sleeping next to her so badly.

She woke up the next morning fully dressed and stretched, wincing at the pain from sleeping so awkwardly. Her body wasn't what it used to be. She was still skinny, still strong, but she was stiff. She felt old for the first time in her life. She rolled over and cast her arm over her face to block out the bright sunlight. She started when she heard Daryl's voice calling out.

"Merle! Piper! Got us some squirrels! Let's stew em up!"

"Shit!" She jumped up and grabbed the knife she had placed beside her, yanking it off the old leather belt hastily. She pushed her way through the tent flap just as Shane and Rick told him about Merle. She bit her lower lip as she saw the anger, hatred and grief on his face. Shane head locked him and Piper felt panic rise in her throat as he struggled.

"No…" She whispered to herself. She grabbed her knife and put it Rick around the neck, putting the knife to his throat from behind. "Shane!" She called out, grabbing his attention. "Let. Him. Go." All of the camp starred at her in shock and Daryl stopped struggling his eyes locking with hers in a silent command to stop. It was the first time that she didn't listen.

"Piper don't do this." Rick told her, trying to sound calm. She could hear the conviction in his voice, but there was something in his tone…like he knew that she wouldn't go it. "Shane, let him go." Rick finally said.

Piper watched with narrowed eyes as Shane pushed him away. Piper removed the knife from Rick and hurled it at the ground. It stuck there, sticking straight up from the ground as she walked away from all of them. Next time she hoped it would be Shane. That way she would feel alright with cutting.

"Crazy chick is dangerous!" She heard Shane yelling.

Rick was shaking his head at the other man. "No…She's not dangerous." He told the other cop, just loud enough so that everyone could hear. "She's just protecting him."

* * *

Piper felt a hand grip her shoulder and turned to see Daryl pulling her slightly away from the busy camp site. "Goin' ta get Merle now. Be back before it gets dark." He told her. "Don't go wanderin'. I don't trust none of these ass whips and with that walker wanderin around…." He trailed off.

Piper nodded quickly, not needing him to continue. He didn't want her to get hurt but he wasn't going to say that out loud. It would expose him too much.

"Come here." He told her, pulling her to him and pressing his face into the top of her head. "Stay away from the hot shot cop. Don't kill no one."

"Be safe…" She murmured into his chest, in response. "While you were gone last time I nearly killed Shane."

Daryl found himself cracking a half smile despite how pissed off he was. "I'd be okay with that." He didn't know what to say in this situation under normal conditions. Now he definitely didn't know what to say with all the rage about his brother filling his gut. He pulled away from her and she leaned back against the van.

Piper studied his hard expression, how pissed off he was clearly dominated his face but he looked like he was struggling. "Just say it Daryl." He looked at her sharply his eyes burning. "It's me, Piper. _Girl._"

Daryl let out a curt nod before launching himself over at her and kissing her hard. Her hands came up to his face while he leaned both of his against the back of the van. He brock away the moment he realized that he was very close to pinning her and dug his fingers into her scalp. "Just be here when I get back." He told her. Piper nodded at his serious face her voice taken away by his hungry kiss as he backed away from her and grabbed his bow. "Come on! Let's go!" He bellowed at the other men.

Piper watched his retreating back, just starting to regain her breath. "Good god." She muttered to herself, rubbing her hair as she noticed Shane starring at her in shock. She made a 'what are you looking at jerk' face at him and walked away quickly.

Spotting Lori on the other side of the camp she sighed and walked over to her in the hot sunlight. The other women was hanging up laundry, trying to keep herself busy now that her newly found husband had left for the city again. She looked up at Piper and she approached before quickly looking back at her task.

Piper frowned and picked up a shirt, starting to hang the laundry with her. "I'm sorry…" She finally said quietly. "It was instinct."

Lori nodded slowly. "Would you have killed him?" She asked after a minute.

Piper tilted her neck to the side as she thought about it. "If Shane hadn't let Daryl go, probably." She finally admitted. "But I would have rather sliced up Shane."

Lori gave a little smile. "Right now, I wouldn't have minded that." She looked up to see Piper looking at her questioningly. "He told me Rick was dead. I've been walking around thinking that I'm a widow." The older women put her hand to her face.

Piper shifted on her feet in the hot sun, pushing beads of sweat away from her brow. "He really has a thing for control doesn't he?"

Lori nodded, looking down at the nearly empty basket. "Yeah…I guess he does. But then again…so does Daryl."

Piper shook her head before considering. He didn't really control her…just when she needed to be controlled, which was probably a good thing for all of them.

* * *

"Piper…" She peeked her head out of her tent to see Glenn leaning down outside of it in the cooling night air. "Fish fry is up." She shook her head to indicate that she wasn't hungry. It was past dark. The others weren't back yet and she was starting to get a little bit worried. "Come on. You need to eat and this is going to be good! Something different then squirrel."

Piper sighed and pulled herself out of the tent. She could smell the fish…it was an amazing scent. She'd always loved fish though she had to admit she hated fried food. The taste of it stuck to the roof of her mouth and back of her tongue. She reminded herself that she couldn't be picky as her stomach growled.

She sat at the fire with the others and listened, her normal nightly routine setting in as she crossed her ankles. She smiled as Dale told his story about his watch and time, feeling the familiar passage slip into her consciousness.

"Faulkner." She whispered, making them all look up at her. She looked back down at her fish and took a quick chug of her beer."William Faulker."

Dale smiled kindly at her. "That's right darling. You're just full of surprises."

"You're both so weird." Amy told them getting up.

"Where are you going?" Her sister asked.

"I've got to pee." Amy told her. "Geeze you try and be discreet around here." She muttered walking off.

Not long after…all hell broke loose.


	11. Chapter 11

**LadyLecter47****: Thank you for your review! Please continue to let me know what you think.**

**gypsykl79****: Heck yeah! I would have sliced and diced him in the first ten minutes! **

**Caffiend04****: Thank you! I think the show is really all about human nature in dire circumstances so I try and get as much into it as possible. I think Rick totally gets how people are. In fact I believe the same thing I had Piper think in the last chapter: Rick and Shane were partners because Shane is kind of pushy (Bad Cop) and Rick is good at making people feel secure (Good Cop). **

**Detzer****: Hehe I'm glad the story and she are coming across as brutal and angry, because that's exactly what I was going for.**

**Guest: No! No recovery! Just keep enjoying it! Lol. Yeah I like that she isn't really all that sorry about it either. You attack my friend, I attack yours. Period Jerk-face Shane!**

**Emberka-2012****: Heck yes she would kill anyone to protect him. He saved her life and didn't stop at that. **

**Also thank you to all of my other reviewers including ****GypsyWitchBaby****,****euhitz****, Melissa, ****, ****jstarr713****, ****GatorGirl99**** and ****jinxleah****. **

**Favorate Line (There were so many in this chapter it was hard to choose!): _"Daryl Piper! Not in front of the kids! Geeze! What is wrong with you two?"_**

**Chapter Eleven: **

Dale grabbed Pipers arm as the walkers descended on the camp site, coming in from all sides of the dark forest. "We've got to get out of here!" He yelled at her, grabbing a bat from beside the camp fire.

Piper shook his hand off roughly. She was looking at the walkers with wide eyes, her lips pursed together. They looked so human…something that probably sure freaked the rest of the group out. It fueled her more then she could have ever imagined. She'd done this before…and these people weren't even living. She felt rage bubbling up inside of her as she saw one of the walkers take down a nameless woman that she had never spoken to before.

"PIPER!" Dale yelled.

She reached out and grabbed one of the burning, metal picks they used to stir the fire. "Go." She told him. "Get to the RV."

Dale starred at her in shock as she pulled her knife and ran over to the walker that had taken down the women. She leaned over as it was still chopping down on the poor women's leg, using both of her hands to drive the knife into the walkers head brutally. Images of her attack rolled into her mind, flooding her senses with the smell of her own blood. She could feel her nails digging into the chest of the man.

Rage filled her as another walker groaned and staggered forward. She gripped the long metal tube and swung it as hard as she could, knocking its head to an odd angle, the smell of burning flesh filling the air, before she drove the burning end into the things brain stem with a grunt at the force she was using. "I am not a victim!" She yelled at it, kicking its limp body in the side angrily.

A scream echoed through her ears and she turned to see Sophia, running towards her, fear in the little girl's eyes. She grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her behind her. "Stay with me." She told the little girl through her sobs.

She looked back as the walker clawed towards them. She heard gun shots and Daryl's bellowing voice. She let out the breath she was holding and hit the oncoming walker with the poker, causing it to fall to the ground and flail. Taking her knife over hand, she drove it into the walkers brain, thinking about the way she had held the same knife and drug it down on _him._

She felt Sophia grabbing onto the back of her shirt. She pulled the knife and stabbed down once more to be sure. Her breath was coming out in short gasps as she tried to push back the whirl wind of anger, hate, fear and relief she felt flooding through her.

"Stay low." She gasped to the girl, looking around and seeing that the other campers, aided by the returning rescue party, had taken out the rest of the walkers.

"Piper!" Daryl bellowed through the devastated camp site. Everyone was crying in the after math of the attack. Screaming echoed through the air. He scrunched up his face in anger as he looked around, unable to spot her. "PIPER!" He screamed again, desperation creeping into his tone.

"Here!" He looked behind him to see the girl rising, putting her foot on a walker's neck and yanking the knife from its forehead. She held a now cooling poker but dropped it when she had to use both of her hands to yank the knife out of the rotting flesh with a sticky, suction sound. She was covered in blood again, the long sleeved flannel shirt she was wearing over her tank top to cover her sun burnt skin was hanging heavy. He briefly admitted to himself in a haze of adrenaline that she looked damn near edible covered in the morbid red liquid.

Sophia was standing behind her, holding onto the back of her shirt desperately. Piper looked over at him, relief washing through her body at the sight of him, even covered in sweat, dirt and blood.

She glanced down at the shaking little girl. "Go to your mother Sophia." She told her as Daryl stalked over to her, throwing down his bow and the gun to the ground with a loud crash. His strides were intense, making her take a step back as she mistakenly took the passion in his eyes with anger.

"Get over here." He growled, closing the distance and grabbed her wrist to make her release the knife. It clattered to the blood soaked ground as he pulled her in and kissed her hard, gripping the back of her head. He knew that he was being too harsh, too hungry. He could feel her shaking from the herd on the camp. Probably from him being so intense with her too.

Right now he just didn't give a fuck though. He'd never experienced anything like that before; like his heart was being ripped out with fear. He couldn't process it and didn't want to right now, pushing it down.

He pulled her against his dirty body, digging his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck. He broke away from her after a few minutes. "Still not scared of walkers?" He muttered.

Piper took a deep breath and looked around them at all of the carnage. "Still not as much as people." She told him and he nodded, tilting her chin up to him with his rough fingers, leaving a smudge of blood on her face.

"You get bit or scratched?" She shook her head and he let out a hissing breath of thankfulness before taking her lips in his again. This time her arms wrapped around his neck as she held her shaking body close to his. He pulled her as close as he could get, pressing up against her before yanking the dirty over shirt from her body, desperate to be as close to her as possible. His fingers gripped her slender arms tightly.

He needed her right now. He didn't care if it was right there in the bloody grass with the corpses. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, pulling him closer. She would have never thought she would need to be pressed against someone this badly again; someone warm and alive.

"Daryl Piper!" They both broke apart to see Carol and Lori starring at them, both clutching their children to them. "Not in front of the kids! Geeze! What is wrong with you two?"

Piper bit her lip and looked up at Daryl's heated face. He was gnarling at the inside of his lip mercilessly before looking down at her blood and sweat soaked face. So damned sexy. "How many did ya get?"

Piper grinned at him, her breath finally getting a chance to become even. "Three." She told them. "And got the little girl safe." She paused and considered how few it was. "I'll get more next time."

Daryl nodded down at her and wrapped his fingers around her chin. The last part of the statement made his stomach turn with pleasure and pride. He was proud and pissed at the same time. She seemed to have done really well but at the same time he wished that he hadn't come back to find her in the middle of a massacre, fighting on her own. "Lake. Now." He told her sternly.

Daryl checked the perimeter of the lake before watching Piper throw herself in, fully clothed. If it was light out he was sure that he would see the blood streaming off of her.

Piper pulled off her dirty jeans so that they wouldn't weigh her down in the water, sure that the ugly healed flesh on her body wouldn't be seen in the night. Filling, she turned so that she was floating on her back, looking up at the late night sky. Someone had forgotten to tell the sky that people had died tonight. The full moon was bright and the stars were out shinning, illuminating the stone sides of the quarry. She closed her eyes for a moment, relishing in the smooth water relaxing her tired muscles and humming nerves. The adrenaline disappeared into the depths of the dark water.

Daryl stripped his own shirt off and followed her into the water, pulling her to him lightly. She wrapped her arms around his thick neck as he pulled her to hang onto his body.

"Next time ya need ta stay with the others." He muttered, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her body was too exhausted to even tense up. "I leave for one day and yer knee deep in blood."

Piper gave a little shrug as he moved them around in the water. "You said not to kill anyone while you were gone…I don't think walkers count."

Daryl frowned at her, considering the words. "Reckon they don't. But I told ya ta be here when I got back ta."

"And here I am." Piper's fingers gripped into the soft hair on the back of his neck.

Daryl gave a slightly defeated sigh and let his eyes run over her now clean face, down her neck, to the tank top that was now clinging to her slender little body. He knew that he was glad she was alright, the relief he had felt when he saw her rising up from that body wasn't completely hidden by his rage and lust. "Yeah," He muttered, very conscious that his fingers had found the skin under the hem of her shirt. "Here ya are…all 100 pounds of reckless." Piper smiled weakly at him, and he felt himself scoff. She sure as hell wasn't weak. She was getting stronger every day.

Piper watched his eyes travel over her and smiled at his attempt to hide that he had been worried. The desperation in his voice when he had screamed her name was undeniable. She leaned forward and kissed him sweetly, making his eyes drift shut at the tenderness of it. He didn't think that anyone had ever kissed him like that, so lovingly, so trustingly. He kind of felt like a dick for bruising her lips with his harshness earlier.

She pulled away from his lips for a moment, pulling her soaked shirt over her head and hurling it to the shore.

Daryl looked at her in shook for a moment, not able to help it when his eyes ran over her nearly bare chest. _Okay... must have died during that fight and some sick fuck sent me ta heaven. _He thought to himself. "Good Lord." He muttered licking his lips. "Ya sure girl? If ya aint ready…"

Piper smiled at him gently and cupped his cheeks, running her thumbs over his facial hair. "I'm sure."

Daryl let out a long breath before lifting a hand and running it over the skin right above her bra. Her little fingers tangled in the hair at the back of his neck as he touched her. "Wont hurt ya…I swear." He promised her huskily.

Piper ran her fingers down his large, toned arms and nodded, gulping. "I know." She ran her hands down his chest feeling the strong muscles holding her up.

Daryl tried to stop…he really did, but his face tilted to kiss at her neck and shoulder. He'd wanted this to be good for her, wanted to have her in a bed where she could stretch out and be comfortable. He definitely wasn't a romantic; couldn't have been farther from it. But her first time back after…_it _should be amazing. Here was just going to have to do.

His fingers slipped behind her back and unclasped the lacy black bra, her legs holding her to him. He dropped the bra into the water and ran his hands over her taunt nipples. Leaning in he kissed her lips tenderly reminding her that it was him she was with.

Ducking his head down he took the nipple into his mouth, swiveling her tongue around and making her thighs tighten around him. He groaned against her as her hips pressed against him. He was growing hard unbelievable fast, all of his fantasies coming true. Reaching down in between them he stroked her through her underwear, causing her to momentarily tense against him.

"Sush." He muttered huskily, pulling his head up and looking straight into her bright green eyes. "It's me. Say my name girl."

Piper nodded quickly and gulped down her irrational fear, looking into his deep, hooded blue eyes. "Daryl," She whimpered as he slipped his fingers under the thin material and stroked her.

He buried his face in her shoulder, groaning at the warmth of her. "Feel good babe?"

"Yeah…" She breathed. She kept repeating over and over in her mind who this was, what he had done for her, how different his touch was.

He felt his ego inflate along with other parts of him and withdrew his hand, untangling her from him and pulling her underwear off her long legs, hidden under the soothing water. He desperately pulled at the buttons of his own pants, now far too constricting, keeping his eyes locked with hers. "Ya gotta tell me Piper. Tell me ta stop if ya don't want this."

Piper shook her head and touched his face, the soft skin a contrast to the brutal girl he had seen an hour ago. She leaned forward and touched her soft lips to his. "I do." She whispered against him. Her body was reacting well to his touches and kissing and she could feel herself aching for something that she thought she'd never want again.

Daryl grunted his acknowledgement and reached down, fisting himself as he pulled her back to wrap around him. She unknowingly tensed as he got close to her, looking down at his hand buried under the water. Daryl frowned and reached back out, lifting her chin to look up into his face. "I promised I wouldn't hurt ya an' I wont. If ya don't like it, we stop."

She nodded, feeling relief and comfort as she looked into his sweet blue eyes, normally so hard with anyone but her.

Daryl let her come to him, feeling her legs wrap around his waist tantalizingly and he groaned recklessly. He guided himself up to her and closed his eyes tightly as he moved into her, trying his hardest to be slow and gentle. He'd never made love before…just fucked. This HAD to be different. He had to prove to her that he could be different.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut as she felt his long, thick length move into her. Sudden fear gripped her as memories of the attack enveloped her mind. She could practically smell her own blood, feel the pain again. She clenched uncontrollable around him gasping, stress fractures jolting her muscles.

Daryl gritted his teeth as he felt it. "Look at me baby. Look at me now!"

Piper opened her eyes as he rested his forehead against hers, hands resting under her butt lightly. She starred at him as he continued to enter her until he was buried into her tight warmth, taking in his features, coated with euphoria. It was easier to forget when she looked at him; remembered that he was the one inside of her. He was the one moving carefully, not cutting her up, not forcing.

She felt so damned good, warm and tight. Merle couldn't have been more wrong. She was fucking perfect against him. He opened his eyes back to her and held her gaze. "You okay Piper?" He asked, voice husky and broken.

Piper bit her lip and nodded. "Just…stay there for a minute…please?" She whispered.

Daryl nodded and brought his lips to hers, kissing her passionately. Yeah, he could do that. He could stay buried in her forever.

After a few minutes he felt her rotate her hips and let out a little gasp of pleasure. HHe smiled into her neck at the sound and held her close as she rocked against him. He let her set the pace at first before moving with her, groaning into the darkness. She whimpered his name against his skin, constantly reminding herself, running her fingers along his chest and through his short hair.

"Jeeeesus Piper," He groaned into her ear. "Ya feel so fucking perfect."

She moaned against him as she felt herself actually getting close, taking in the intimacy as he moved her up and down on him, feeling him holding her close to his chest as his fingers tightened on her back and rear. The water sloshing against them just made it even more amazing, contrasting their hot bodies with its chilling coolness.

"Daryl…I'm going to…"

"Do it Girl. Let it happen." He felt her clenching around him as she came and whimpered his name loudly.

"Holy Fuck!" He hissed loudly, picking up his thrusts at the sound of his name being said in such a pleasured way. He came into her forcefully as he clenched her tiny body tight to him, both breathing hard. He buried his head into her shoulder. "Damaged my ass." He muttered, making her laugh weakly.


	12. Chapter 12

**GypsyWitchBaby****: That was the other line that I couldn't decide on! **

**jinxleah****: Hope that was a good wow. **

**euhitz****: I try to make my stories as crack-like as possible!**

**Kit-cat99****: Thank you! I've found a lot of stories where the girl he saves is all broken and crying. It made me want to make a wild one. **

**GatorGirl99: I'm glad you think so! I was afraid that it was too soon but I think that it coming out after a battle like that is the perfect time for the passion and desire to live and heal come out. **

**jstarr713****: In the middle of carnage is exactly the moment I want Daryl to throw me to the ground. **

**Leyshla Gisel****: hehehe that's what I thought too! **

**Melissa: Yes I will be following the story line with a few small changes. **

**vexingvixen7****: I'm all about the primal Daryl so that was actually really hard to write. **

**Thanks to ****gypsykl79****, ****gurl3677****, ****Emberka-2012**** for reviewing.**

**Favorite Line: **_**"I have the right to be brutal." **_

**Chapter Twelve: **

Piper drove the metal poker she had used the previous night into the head of one of the walkers victims, shielding her eyes as she looked up towards the sun. She could see others, painfully dragging bodies and pulling walkers to piles in the camp.

Daryl seemed to be the only one who had the stomach to get down to business and make sure the dead wouldn't start dancing, putting a pick ax into the heads of the corpses. He glanced over at her with a part satisfied, part secretive smirk, making her smile lightly down at the body she was searching.

"Hey Piper." She glanced up to see Rick coming over to her before giving him a slight nod and looking back down at her work. "What are you doing?"

In answer she pulled a blood coated pocket knife out of the bodies pocket and held it out to him. Rick sighed. "I guess you're right…waste not, want not and all that."

She nodded and gave him a little shrug. He definitely wasn't as abrasive as Shane. Even if she wasn't talking, he would still take her answers as actions instead of yelling at her to talk. He kept a good three feet away from her at all times to make her feel secure.

"Look…I wanted to thank you." Rick said slowly. "For last night. I don't think anyone ever really did thank you for taking care of that little girl and putting yourself at risk."

Piper looked up at him, slightly surprised. Daryl had pretty much thanked her enough for staying alive. She tilted her neck to the side, considering what to do or say.

Rick watched her struggle with it for a moment. "Look, Lori told me what happened to you. You don't have to say anything back. I can tell you're a good girl but I saw you out there…fighting. You were brutal. Effective but brutal. I'm just glad you're on our side." He couldn't get the image of her with that burning poker out of his head. He gave her a little half smile and turned to leave her in peace.

Piper let out a long breath, watching him. "Hey Rick." She finally said, making him turn back to look at her. "I'm allowed to be brutal." She said at length.

Rick rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah I kind of think you have the right to be." If anyone did it was her after what had happened.

"He's bit! Jims been bit!" Both of them looked away from each other quickly to see Jacqui backing away from Jim the rest of the camp hurrying over to see what was going on, embers of panic stirring in the camp again.

"Let's see it." Daryl said circling him. His eyes darted to Piper as she and Rick approached while Jim repeated that he was okay over and over again. "Stay back girl." He told her quickly. He wanted that perfect little body of hers out of the way. He wasn't sure if she really understood how dangerous walkers were. She was just afraid of people. These things were like wild dogs to her.

T-dog and Shane restrained Jim as Daryl pulled up his shirt, finding the angry, bleeding bite before pushing him back, clenching his jaw as he paced, rubbing the back of his head in frustration and anger.

Piper listened as they argued about the CDC biting her increasingly red bottom lip as she kept looking back at Jim.

"Ya'll go find aspirin or whatever. Somebodies gotta have the balls ta take care of this." Daryl finally growled before spinning to take care of the situation with the pick ax.

Rick held up his gun and Piper charged, just like Shane apparently knew she would. He stepped into her path quickly, his bulky body stopping her in her tracks with narrowed eyes. "Don't even think about it." He told her sternly.

Piper glared at him, green eyes holding a silent promise: _One of these days buddy. _She mouthed the words to him, perfect pink lips threatening and curled.

"We don't kill the living." Rick told Daryl sternly.

Daryl's blue eyes shot to Piper as she focused on his face. Her eyes widened just the smallest of bits and he shook his head at her, willing her into silence and begging that she understood that her situation was different. "That's funny coming from a guy with his gun pointed at my head." He muttered. "Ya'll left my brother fer dead! Ya had this comin'!" He stormed off.

* * *

Piper had packed up her few things fast and pulled the tent down awkwardly. No matter how good she was at adapting, she had never camped or pitched a tent before. Camp sites in New York City were kind of slim. She pulled at one of the bars and watched the whole thing clasp down. "Hum, that was easy." She muttered to herself, pulling out the bars and clasping them. She didn't know why people made such a big deal about this.

She watched as Daryl stalked over, still taunt with anger and emotion. He scooped up her bag and tossed it into the back of his truck without ceremony. He leaned against the truck for a moment, his shoulders flexed before taking a deep breath and turning back to her. He felt his anger leek away as she looked up at him then back down at the polls she was arranging. She looked amazing today after him being inside of her last night, wearing a purple loose skirt that fell to her knee and a now off white tank top. He let out a breath at how feminine she looked despite everything. It totally made his attitude disappear.

He walked back over biting his thumb nail as he watched her bend down and start to roll the tent together. "Tighter." He murmured, bending down and helping her role it. "There ya go babe."

She didn't say anything and he knew that she was thinking about Ricks words. He hauled up the tent up. "Get in the truck." He told her calmly, going to deposit the tent next to his brothers latched down motor cycle.

Piper sighed as she followed him. "You're worried about Merle not being able to find you." She said quietly as he turned back to her.

"Don't talk about it Piper." He growled. He did not want to talk about this…ever with her. It was his job to protect her, not to spill his guts.

She stepped closer to him so that they were toe to toe and looking up into his widening blue eyes. His face was intense. "If he's as good a tracker as you are then, if he wants you, he'll find you."

She ran her hand up his plaid clad chest as he let out a long breath. He looked down at her, gripping her arm, knowing she was right but he still didn't like it. She shouldn't be comforting him. He should be taking care of her. He was the man here after all. "Just get in the truck girl. Don't make me say it again."

* * *

Her head was leaning against the window frame, looking out it as the air from their movement blew stands of dark hair out of the braid and around her pretty heart shaped face. The hot air and reflection from the mirrors lit up her eyes and glowed off her skin. It felt amazing, and Daryl was amazed that he got to look at it. She wasn't talking and he had thought he would have loved that. What more could a back woods, red neck want more then to look at a beautiful women that didn't speak? Still he found himself wanting to hear her soft little voice again. He wanted her to stop thinking about what Rick said.

"Don't think I ever seen ya in a skirt before." He muttered, keeping his eyes locked on the road to avoid crashing them while distracted.

Piper bit her lip and glanced over at him as he bit down on his nail, briefly thinking that it was odd that both of them had to constantly be chewing on something while nervous. She looked back out the window quickly. "Do you regret it?" She asked him quietly, fearing his reaction for the first time ever. He hadn't said a word about last night, hadn't tried to kiss her or move close to her since. They had needed to get to work on the bodies right away and there had been no time…still…

"What part of fucking perfect didn't ya hear?" He responded gruffly. "I aint a loving man. Ya know that Piper." He glanced over at her. He was pretty sure that he had been for her though. If that was what making love was he could definitely repeat it…over and over and over again. "That why ya wore the skirt taday? Ta tempt me?" It was working. He remembered those strong legs, now propped up against the dashboard, wrapped around his naked hips.

Piper let a little shy smile play on her lips. "I'm just…" She mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"Say again?"

"I'm a little sore alright?" She admitted, thoroughly embarrassed. "I was healing in overdrive. I guess I just forgot what it felt like."

Daryl made a worried face in front of him, not looking at her and feeling guilt. He had thought he had been gentle…far more gentle then he had ever been with a women before. Still he remembered how small and tight she was. He shifted his hips thinking about it.

"It's the good kind of sore," She added quickly. When she looked back at him he was grinning to himself, proud but trying to hide it. "Stop smiling you jerk!" She laughed lightly.

She turned to look out the window, returning to silence for a few minutes. He knew that he was leaving her too long with her thought but he didn't know what to say that wouldn't sound like a horny teenager. He leaned forward and switched on the vents to try and get more cool air flowing, placing a hand over it to make sure it was working, awkwardly knowing that he was doing it to get closer to her.

"I kill the living." She finally muttered, wrapped up in more pressing thoughts then amazing, mind blowing, welcome back to the world sex.

Daryl's eyes shot to her face. "Only when they fuckin deserve it." He told her solidly.

She shrugged her little shoulders. "That still makes me a murderer."

"No." He shot back quickly. "That makes ya an executioner."

Piper looked over at him, pushing a strand of hair from her full lips. "For someone to be executed they have to be found guilty."

"He was guilty." He told her firmly. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white, remembering the second little, blond girl he'd found dead, bloody, broken in every way physically possible. "Believe that." He looked over as she starred at him, shock evident on her face. "I found him doin' it again ta someone else. That's when I brought him ta ya."

"Daryl…I…"

They were both distracted by the RV honking, signaling for them all to stop the caravan. They looked forward as Daryl stopped the truck with a jerk. Daryl watched as she took a deep breath, undoing her seat belt. Daryl unbuckled his too and leaned over her, locking her door and looking at her hard.

"No regrets." He muttered before kissing her deeply, wantingly, pulling her close in the hot Georgia air. "Don't make ya a murder. Makes ya my women." He muttered against her lips before diving his tongue into her soft, sweet mouth. He loved that she was that vicious. He hated that he loved it. Hated that he needed more of it.

Piper let her fingers drift up to his face, stroking his jaw line as he explored her mouth forcefully. He finally broke away and pulled back. "I want it again." He muttered, knowing that it was more than true but that it also assured her that he didn't regret anything.


	13. Chapter 13

**jstarr713: Oh heck yes. She should totally kill him.**

**gurl3677: Lol I always wondered how Lori and Shane really hooked up cause there really is barely time in the show to have sex. Most of all in season 1. I mean there is literally no time!**

**Leyshla Gisel: Yeah I still wanted to make him rough and angry because lets face it; that's half of the reason why he probably likes Piper, because she's so crazy and wild!**

**SaraLostInes: As sick as it is its always fun to drive characters crazy.**

**Kit-cat99: Congrats on your story! I will go over to your profile and give it a read! I think that Rick would probably do the same if Lori or Carl were in danger so he gets where she's coming from.**

**Thank you also to: jinxleah, JavaNut and Emberka-2012 for their reviews!**

**Favorite Line: **_**When Daryl Dixon told you had an anger management problem….you definitely had a big problem.**_

**Chapter Thirteen:**

Jenner led them all into the elevator once he had let them into the CDC, preparing to cram up together into the tight space. Daryl instantly felt her tenseness at the idea of proximity of her body to other people.

Apparently Rick figured it out too, glancing down at the knife she had strapped to her belt. He rubbed his temples as he thought about it for a moment, knowing that he had promised Jenner a blood test from all of the members too. "Daryl." He muttered, drawing the other man's attention as the others proceeded down the hall way. "You've got to take her knife."

Daryl frowned at him. "What? No!" He wasn't going to take her defensive weapon away from her! Not when she trusted him that much!

"Daryl." Rick muttered sternly. "He's going to be taking blood from her…and you. She's going to react badly. You know that. This is protecting everyone…including her."

Daryl felt himself inwardly wincing as he looked back down the hall at her walking with Glenn. Someday he was not going to be the only one she trusted. Someday she was going to figure out that she could have someone else. But today he had her trust and he had to take the weapon away. "Piper." He called after her. She turned from Glenn and stepped back to him and Rick. "Give me yer knife." He told her sternly.

"What?" She asked him, surprised.

_Those were my thoughts ta girl, _he thought, holding out his rough hand. "Can't have ya slicing and dicing people on impulse in here." He saw the twinge of panic in her eyes. It was like he was taking away her last defense. In a way he guessed he was. He held back from saying anything more. All he wanted to do was tell her that she didn't need the knife because he was watching out for her, but that would have been too sappy. Just like everything else he had wanted to say in the car he was going to keep that to himself. "Give it." He told her instead.

Piper looked around them both before slowly undoing her belt and pulling the knife off of it. She held it for a moment before extending it back to its original owner. Daryl gave her a curt nod, finding that he needed to say something when she instantly looked like all the air had left her lungs. "Ya'll get this back girl. No worries. Is temporary."

Piper looked away from him around the halls, so cold, so impersonal. She felt a shiver of fear rise up in her, like she was completely naked now and defenseless.

Rick watched her, feeling unbelievably guilty for doing what he needed to. He still didn't like the look of panic in her eyes. "Piper," He drew her attention to him quickly, speaking in hushed tones. "Its okay. We're going to watch out for you."

Her huge green eyes glanced at him before looking down at her dirty boots and nodding. Rick desperately wished he could reach out and pat her shoulder but he restrained himself, hoping that Daryl could figure this out.

Daryl watched her again, knowing that she was returning to caged animal mode. He couldn't have that. He needed her to be human or something close to it for at least ten minutes. "Hey girl. I've got ya." He muttered, momentarily pulling her to him. Piper felt his warm chest through his shirt up against her cheek and resisted the urge to close her eyes.

Daryl had backed her into the corner of the elevator as she watched the doctor closely. His eyes found hers a few times but quickly turned away, making Daryl smirk slightly. Piper may have been small, she may have been cute, but the fire in her huge green eyes always seemed to intimidate people.

Piper bit her lip as she watched Jenner taking blood samples from everyone, panic growing inside of her for some reason. It felt like it was coating her entire stomach. She was trying to push it down as hard as she could, reminding herself that she had had blood tests before. Once upon a time she had lived in the real world, she didn't flinch when touched, she even danced with people, something that always required a large amount of touching obviously. She had gone to the doctor and all of the stuff a normal girl did. That seemed so long ago now.

She put her fingers to the side of her forehead as she watched the way that Jenner's arm braced down on the others forearms, the way the tendons there clenched and moved, the way the skin puckered when the thick needle entered it. She watched the way that the blood spurted into the testing tubes and a few small droplets escaped onto the skin and gauze after he pulled the needle.

Jenner didn't look up at her when it was her turn. "Ready Sweetheart?"

She let out a shaky breath. She could do this. It was just a stupid blood test. She could do this. She slipped over to the chair, letting out a long breath. She knew that the others were watching as she sat down, everyone tense and nervous. Daryl stood not far off, biting his thumb nail as he watched them.

"Okay…here we go." Jenner said as he picked up a new needle and took hold of her arm. She instantly couldn't control herself and shifted away, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

"Fuck!" Shane yelled, jumping up. "God dammit why do we even fucking bother!" He charged to grab the as she slipped back against the wall, trying to get away.

Daryl stepped in his way quickly. "Don't fucking touch her!" He hissed at Shane. He grabbed Piper around the waist and hauled her into the chair, her legs kicking of the ground as she tried to free herself. She tried to jerk from his grasp and probably would have if Rick hadn't stepped forward, silently asking if he should help. "Grab her arm." Daryl told him as he braced his hands on her shoulders, forcing her into the chair and holding her down. Rick braced her arm down for Jenner. The chair scrapped against the ground as she jerked in Daryl's hands. "Stop wriggling!" Daryl muttered sternly in her ear. This only seemed to make her panic more.

"Has she been exposed?" That was the only reason that Jenner could think of for why she would freak out about a blood test.

"No!" Rick said quickly. "She's just… afraid of being touched." Rick could still feel her struggling as Jenner tried to get the needle close enough to her arm. "Just keep talking to her Daryl." He told the other man.

Daryl swallowed. He couldn't use their normal calming ritual here in front of all these people. "Piper." He finally muttered, still holding her into the chair by her shoulders. "I'm here…just me. Just a blood test. Yer gunna be just fine. Look up." He told her as he saw Jenner getting ready stick her arm now that she had started to settle a bit. She looked up into his face and he was glad she wasn't looking at the needle anymore. Seeing her own blood spray out would definitely bring back some memories for both of them. Her body still jerked from time to time. "Just keep looking at me girl."

He saw her wince when the needle entered her skin, her green eyes locked with his. This was pretty much horrifying to him, being the one to hold her down while she was scared and wincing. He hated it. Hated how big her eyes looked, how she looked so betrayed.

"All done." Jenner said quickly pulling his chair back to that the two men could release the mortified girl. "Now that wasn't so bad was it?"

Piper pushed herself up the moment that Rick and Daryl released her. She felt the little gauze piece on her arm, glancing up at Jenner with still fire filled eyes.

At least it was over. Daryl was thankful. It could have gone much worse. He moved to take a step closer to her but Piper pushed him hard as he came close, both hands against his chest, making him stumble backwards a step before she whirled and walked to the other side of the room. He was shocked with her, never having expected that.

She paced for a moment, breathing hard as she tried to collect herself, tried to push the rage and fear down. She ran her hands through her hair angrily as Jenner said that they had plenty of food for dinner for all of them. She didn't even notice that they had left the room until it was just her and Daryl standing there. She looked over at him for a split second before looking away.

Daryl could clearly see that that had been terrifying: Not even just the needle. In fact most of it probably wasn't even about the blood test. That had been the catalyst. It was about being held down….commanded, told to stop struggling.

"I told ya ya'd be okay." He muttered. Piper stopped pacing and looked at him. "Ya aint gunna get hurt while I'm around. Just chill."

"CHILL?!" Piper yelled suddenly. It was probably the loudest he had ever heard her voice. She took a big gulp of air before nodding. "Okay I need to 'chill'. Never mind that the only person I trust just took away my only weapon and held me down." She muttered. Daryl raised his eyebrows at her, not sure if she was talking to him or talking to herself. She took another deep breath. "Just give me a minute." She finally told him, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting with her forehead pressed against her palm.

Daryl frowned as he watched her eyes close before walking over and standing right in front of her slouching form. He reached behind him and pulled the knife out, slamming it on the table next to her and making her body jerk in surprise. "Learn ta fucking control yerself and I wont need ta take it away." He told her sternly. "Come get something ta eat when yer ready."

He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. He knew that he had done the right thing but he still felt so damned guilty. It was that face on her, the one of betrayal. The one that he knew she had because he was holding her down. He was pretty sure that he could forget about last night being repeated. Pretty sure he would be one of those night mares she had now. He tried to push it off, tried to not care. But it still felt like it was crushing him.

Piper frowned as she looked over at the knife, picking it up with a little shaky sigh. The sides were cool and smooth, just like she remembered them from the first time she had held it to take out her vengeance. She couldn't deny it; when Daryl Dixon told you had an anger management problem….you definitely had a big problem.

She needed to start gaining some self-control. Pulling herself up from the chair she went to go find the others.


	14. Chapter 14

**Kit-cat99: Totally!**

**GatorGirl99 & Caffiend04: I'm glad that she's coming across as an animal. That's exactly what I want.**

**GypsyWitchBaby: Yeah I feel bad for both of them. Its really neither of their faults and they both have valid points. I just don't think Piper can control her fear or survival instincts at all and that's really sad.**

**gurl3677: I'll try and be more clear on it! Thank you! And yes. Fuck Shane.**

**Favorite Line: "I don't trust you."**

**"Liar."**

**Chapter Fourteen:**

When Piper came into the dimly lit mess hall everyone was laughing and joking, celebrating the little bit of normalcy. They had already broken into the wine and Glenn held out a glass to her. Considering, she took the cool, large glass of red wine and sat on the directly opposite side of the room from Daryl.

He propped himself up on the table and watched her, taking chugs out of his bottle of Southern Comfort. It was an appropriate name for this situation right now, Piper mused. Southern. Comfort. They could all use some of it at this moment. She tilted her glass up and took a long, satisfying sip.

"I want to try!" Carl cried out as his mother put her hand over the glass, shaking her head and tossing her frizzy hair around.

"In France and Italy, even children can have a glass of wine with dinner." Dale, ever the barer of information, laughed.

Piper looked down as she propped her leg up on the table, closing her eyes as she remembered the last time she had toured in France. She had loved every moment of it; ever bite of food, every sip of wine, every dance. They did have wonderful wine. She'd never been much of a drinker but she did love a glass of wine or champagne after a well-executed show. She took another long sip.

"Oh come on!" Rick laughed. "What can it hurt! Come on!" The poor exhausted man was clearly already on cloud nine.

Dale poured a bit for the boy before turning and seeing Pipers glass almost empty. He held out the bottle and she nodded that she would absolutely adore a refill.

Carl winced and made a disgusted noise at the wine, shaking his tongue in the air. Piper let out a little half smile. "Don't worry kid. This isn't the god stuff anyway." She said quietly.

The group laughed at the slight words…everyone except Daryl who was still watching her closely, his blue eyes burning and his cheeks flushing red by now. He'd been taking a sip every time he looked at her, which was near all the time. "Ya seem ta be enjoyin' it enough." He said, eyeing her as Dale refilled the glass again.

She shot him a quick look of distain, making his already hammering heart go into over drive. If there was ever a night that he was going to need someone under him it was tonight and the one woman he needed was burning angry holes into him. He shook it off. He didn't need her, he reminded himself. He wanted her. He could push away a want.

Piper could feel his eyes constantly on her. He wasn't used to having her this far away from him…and neither was she. Pulling herself off the table, she grabbed an unopened bottle of wine and popped the cork before giving everyone but Shane and Daryl a nod goodnight and setting off to one of the rooms she had seen.

She sighed as she stripped off her dirty cloths and ducked into the best shower of her life. The CDC bathroom had one of those amazing shower heads that she used to have in her own apartment in New York. It was the kind with multiple settings that could feel like a light rain or a pressured massage. Heavenly. She turned the nob to make heat go as hot as it possibly could, letting the hard water bater her skin and turn it red. Leaning her arms forward she braced against the front wall, looking down to see that the little bit of gauze from the blood test had come loose and now circled around the drain. Tiny drops of blood steamed off of it and she closed her eyes to keep them out of her consciousness.

"Stop it." She hissed at herself. "STOP!"

Slamming the water off, she pulled her cloths back on. Daryl had the bags and she had no idea where he had put them. She had every intention of sleeping in dirty cloths.

A slight knock sounded on the door frame as she climbed back onto the bed, snatching up her bottle of wine. She looked up to see Glenn standing there with a dopey look on his face.

"You forgot glasses." He told her, holding two up.

"Don't need them." She replied taking a very unsophisticated drink out of the bottle.

Glenn grinned and stumbled into the room. "Can I sit….there?" He pointed to the wall across from her bed and she gave him a bored look. He jolted over to the spot and slid down the wall with a thunk. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She told him with a bit more snap in it then she had intended. _God Dammit Piper get control of yourself! _She thought before looking at him apologetically. "Sorry…rough day."

"Yeah I know." Glenn mumbled. "You know they didn't want to hurt you right? They didn't hurt you. Daryl wouldn't do that to you."

"Yeah I know." She took a swig of her bottle as she reflected on the fact that her body didn't seem to have gotten the memo.

Daryl stumbled down the hall, his strides uneven and clumsy. His feet just felt so damn heavy. The added weight from Piper's bag didn't help either and he was sloshing the half empty bottle around in his other hand, praying that he didn't spill and waste the soothing nectar in it.

He stopped when he heard the sounds of voices coming from the room in front of him. He could clearly make out Glenn's voice. Piper's was far quieter but after waiting so long to hear it he was sure he could find her from miles away by the sweet sound. Dropping the bag to the ground he leaned against the wall listening to the conversation with squinted eyes.

"You've got to know you're safe here with us Piper." Glenn was saying. "We'll take care of each other. No ones going to hurt you like that again."

Piper shook her head, the wet curls making a wet thudding sound across her shoulders and collar bones. "You can't trust anyone Glenn. Take my word on that."

"Tell me what happened." Glenn's drunken voice muttered from the other side of the room.

Piper looked up at him sharply. "You know what happened." She said as solidly as she could.

Glenn shook his head and she could tell from the way that it lulled that it had been a bad move on his part. "How did you get there?" He asked her again.

Piper pursed her lips, rolling the bottle of wine around in her hand absently. She didn't want to talk about this. She had never wanted to talk about it. Still, she felt the wine loosening her lips and causing them to move without her even thinking about it. "I was at work…getting ready for a show when some of the other teachers and I were told we had to get out of the city; that Atlanta wasn't safe anymore. We got into one of the car services that we always used and the driver…well, we'd known him before. He told us that he was going to get us out. I guess he did technically."

She paused, thinking about it and the pandemonium of that day. "We thought 'hey, we know this guy. He's responsible.'" She raised her voice to imitate a trusting girl that she knew was long gone at this point. "We were such….trusting little idiots. When we got out of the city he told us he was going to go look for help and locked us in. I guess he saw something out there. You know? That one thing that changes us all? It either makes you stronger or drives you insane."

Glenn nodded his understanding, thought he wasn't really sure if he got it as well as she apparently did.

"Well I guess it drove him insane. He just started…taking us out. One by one whenever he felt like it. I was in there for four days…just wondering what the hell was happening. He kept telling us how pretty we were; how much fun we were going to have together. That it was the end of the world and time for fun." She swallowed as she remembered the sickening crazy words. "There were four of us." She locked eyes with Glenn as he starred at her like she was telling a camp fire story. "None of us ever came back."

Piper saw the look on Glenn's face before he reacted to it, covering his mouth and running into the little bathroom to vomit up his night's alcohol intake. She knew it was probably from all of the wine on days' worth of an empty stomach. Still she couldn't help but murmur, "Yeah, that's how I feel about it too."

Daryl let out a breath as he listened from outside the door, the bottle dangling from his hand as he used his other to rub his face. "Mother fucker." He muttered to himself, maneuvering his body to lean heavily against the door frame and look at her. Now he knew what he was the only one that was allowed to call her 'pretty'. He probably wasn't allowed to anymore.

Piper looked up to see the drunken dirty man starring at her. "What?" She asked quietly. It wasn't scared or forceful at all, almost like she regretted what had happened today.

Daryl shook his head. "Just brought ya yer cloths." He reached for the bag, lost his balance for a second then picked it up and tossed it over to her on the ground in front of the bed.

Jesus, was that the girl that had flailed around in his arms a few hours ago? He couldn't tell anymore. All he knew is that she was in soft focus from all of the drinking he'd been doing. "Ya look beautiful." He slurred at her after a moment.

"Daryl…" She warned, realizing her mistake too late.

The moment she said his name he launched himself at her, pressing his lips to hers hard and desperately. He tasted like Southern Comfort, which she was pretty sure she needed some of right now. He was hungry as always, driven, fiery. It was a massive attraction but at the same time a huge fear. Pushing him away she slapped him hard across his face, sending his head flying to the side with a loud pop.

Daryl grabbed her wrist and held it so that she couldn't do it again. His cheek stung from where her hand had connected. For such a little thing she had a great deal of force. "No hittin'." He ground out, looking back at her fearful eyes. He loosened his grip on her wrist before leaning his face to kiss the inside of it.

"Don't do this." She whispered to him, feeling that automatic connection to his touch. He'd somehow managed to link rough fingers to a feeling of security and comfort with her. It was all those nights in her tent, teaching her to be touched again. He didn't know that's what he was doing but it had happened.

Daryl frowned at her. He really did want to do _this. _After hearing her story and remembering what she had gone through something deep in his gut was dying to show her how good it could be again; to remind her that his hands had not only held her down but stroked all of her wounds away too. Some of that probably had to do with the amount of SoCo he had consumed but he was too far gone to think about that.

His tongue darted out and across the skin of her wrist as he watched as her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. "Good girl…" He murmured, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up with heightened sensation. "See, ya aint hittin' me or tryin' ta get away…there's yer control right there."

"I can't…" She told him, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Ya can." He told her firmly. "Ya already have. And ya loved it."

Piper felt a long breath release from her lungs. "I don't trust you." She muttered knowing that the words weren't true the second they left her lips. If it had been true they would have been a good deal less hard to say.

"Liar." He murmured softly to her, reaching out and running his fingers through her still damp hair. He was shocked that she was letting him but when she did he leaned in, needing to kiss her again.

"Oh shit…" They both heard a groan from the bathroom and turned to look at Glenn stumbling out, looking pale and nauseated. "Sorry guys…"

Daryl growled at him but climbed from the bed and helped to pushed the kid out of the room. Clarity was finally dawning on him, his buzz wearing off enough to know what he was going. Piper was staring at something right in front of his foot. He squinted his eyes as he kicked a rolling, empty bottle; remembering the broken one under his foot when he was searching for her attacker.

"Shit." He muttered to himself, his buzz and lust instantly gone. He looked back at her as her eyes drifted back up to him, no longer fire filled or pained….just…sad. He knew that he had down right fucked this one up. "I'll go…I'm…" He struggled to get the words out. "I'm sorry Piper."

Piper squeezed her eyes shut so hard that they hurt as he left before she rose and picked up the empty wine bottle. She looked at it closely before hurling it as hard as she could against the wall with an echoing scream. It shattered against the wall into a million multi-coloured pieces.

Daryl let out a long breath and stopped only about three feet away from her door as he heard the scream and the sound of glass breaking. He slid with his back down the wall, pulling at his hair in utter frustration.


	15. Chapter 15

**Melissa: Fixed! Thank you!**

**Thank you to all of my reviewers, followers and favorite's! I know that things have been tense and I'm sorry if anyone's hearts have stopped! **

**Favorite Line: "Swear ta god fucker! Ya get within five feet of her again I'll fucking end you! And ya best believe I'll do a hella a lot better than whoever put them scratches on yer neck!" **

**Chapter 15:**

Daryl woke up on the floor outside of Pipers room right where he had sat down. His back ached horribly and his neck felt like it was at a strange angle. Then there was the head splitting hang over… He frowned when he noticed that there was a blanket tucked over him, blinking his sleep-hazed, blue eyes down at it in confusion.

"Piper." He half muttered, half groaned. No one else would have even thought about doing that for him. He closed his eyes again as he heard the sound that had woken him; a little, terrified, helpless moan.

He should just stay here. He was only messing her up more, only hurting her more. The other night, that had been a fluke, a random need after so much unanticipated violence. He couldn't take care of her. She was broken and he was fucked up enough on his own. He was that…thing that she feared. Just like his brother was; a man that just…wanted her. But she was so far gone and he was drawn to bring her back. Something inside of him just screamed that if he could help her he'd be making up for every other mistake in his miserable life.

In his half asleep state he didn't bother to deny that he wanted to fix her, wanted to make her feel beautiful and perfect again. He couldn't get the image of that pretty little dancer out of his head. So alive, so full of life. He could still see it in there, like when they were down swimming in the quarry. Forget about her asking if she could kill Merle…forget all that bull shit. It was about the way she touched his cheek, about that first time that she had been awake and walked straight up to him like he was her fucking savior.

Another little fearful noise pulled him out of his thoughts and yanked his heavy eyelids open. He got up with a slight stretch and walked over to her room. _Yeah, yeah. Real men don't stretch and all the bull. _He couldn't help but crack a half grin at her words and the memory of that night.

He moved into the room to see that she wasn't flailing around this time like a fish caught on a line. Only her head turned, tossing her curls across the pillow.

"Piper." He let out in a whisper, but she was out like a light. He moved cautiously over to the bed, gnarling on his thumb nail as he watched her. "Girl…" He tried with no response. He sat on the side of the bed, shifting its weight as little as he could.

_What the hell now Dixon? _A small voice echoed in his head. _Ya gunna take what ya want? _

He shook the very Merle-like voice out of his head and slowly reached out, unsure of himself. Finally he let his fingers drag through her hair and along her scalp. It was so soft…so warm.

She made what sounded like might have been a word and he tried to figure it out. It came out again and again and again…his lips moved with it, trying to figure out what the slur was. Finally he got it.

"En..e..mey. Enemy." He muttered more to himself then anything. "No…no. Not yer enemy." He tried to get through to her sleeping mind. "Never yer enemy….god dammit." He ducked down and placed a hard kiss on her slightly sweating forehead.

He looked up when he heard angry footsteps coming down the hall, rising as the door slammed open and Shane stormed in.

"Someone needs to shut that little psycho up! People are trying to sleep around here!" He went to charge past Daryl.

Anger fumed in Daryl and he finally let it out, whirling his arm back and clocking the ex cop so hard in the face that it sent him falling on his ass just as Piper opened her eyes. "Ya best shut the hell up!"

"You shut the fuck up trailer trash!" Shane spat out a mouthful of blood and got up.

Daryl literally snarled at him. "Swear ta god fucker! Ya get within five feet of her again I'll fucking end you! And ya best believe I'll do a hella a lot better than whoever put them scratches on yer neck!" He screamed as Rick came scrambling to the door.

Piper sat up and blinked the sleep out of her eyes, not knowing what was happening. "What the hell guys?" She asked, drawing both men's attention to her.

Shane starred at her hard, his jaw clenching and unclenching. "You just keep quiet girl! Aint that what you're best at?" He turned and pushed past Rick. Rick mumbled something that sounded 'sorry about him' and took off running after the disgruntled man.

Piper brushed the sleep out of the corners of her eyes and looked at Daryl. He was still standing, staring at the door intimidatingly. "What's going on?" She asked him quietly.

Daryl raised his fingers to his lips and rubbed them as he glanced back at her sleepy form in the bed. "Ya just were talking and cryin' in yer sleep is all. Woke everyone up."

"Sorry." She muttered embarrassed, not only by her talking in her sleep but also the rage she had felt last night. She hadn't exactly been sober herself and knew that she had less control over her actions and thoughts then usual…which was saying something since even she knew she was a lit fuse. She wondered what she had been talking about, nervously watching him as he started back for the door, muscles unbelievably taunt. He looked like some kind of snake, ready to hiss at anyone who was outside. "Hey Daryl?"

He turned back to her quickly. "I'm sorry bout last night girl. Shouldn't have done it. Drinkin' and all." He shifted awkwardly on his feet as she nodded.

"I'm…" She stopped and tried to think of what she could say to make up for slapping him and trying to hurt him. She felt like she was yo-yoing with her fear and lack of fear. She was scared of him but not at the same time. She knew he could hurt her, but wouldn't. She couldn't control any of her reactions or feelings about what was happening with him. Things had been so much simpler at the camp when it was just he and her; no one trying to touch her or take blood. "I'm sorry I said…you know what…it's not true."

Daryl nodded slightly. "I know…but ya got every reason not ta trust me." She looked at him questioningly as he came over and sat on the bed. "Most of all fer wantin' ya like I do." He muttered more to himself. Piper swallowed as she looked at him, the lump in her throat unclearable. "I just gotta leave ya alone."

He stood up quickly and her hand jetted out, grabbing a fist full of his shirt. "Don't." She whispered. She didn't want to be alone. She was still on pins and needles from her nightmare and no matter how mad she was at Daryl she couldn't ignore the way him being there calmed her.

"Piper, no. I can't." He chocked. He could not stay there. He couldn't be near her. He was bound to do something to make her snap. He would watch her from a distance, make sure she didn't go off the deep end but not be close enough to touch her.

"Daryl, please!"

"No!" He yelled back at her. "Don'tcha say my name! Don't fuckin' do it!" He pulled away from her grasp and looked at her huge sleepy eyes. Lord she was so damned cute and beautiful, her beautiful curls all mussed up from sheep. Her green eyes staring up at him so pleadingly. Every word she said echoed through his chest. "Christ baby." He muttered running his hand through his hair. "I'm sleepin' over here." He told her pointing to the floor by the wall.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Dar-"

"That's all yer getting' from me girl." He told her, settling onto the ground facing her, his back propped up against the hard wall. "Except it."

He watched as she lay back down, her green eyes catching his from across the room. After a while he saw them drifting in and out of consciousness, still trying to stay locked with his. _Sleep. _He mouthed to her and she finally drifted off.

He continued to watch her, propping his knee up and leaning his chin on it as he considered her. He could have sworn at some point during the night he heard her murmur his name.

* * *

Daryl looked down at his powdered eggs as Piper came in, bed hair still hanging around her shoulders beautifully. Her feet were bare and wrapped again under a pair of skinny jeans and a hunter green tank top. He tried not to notice how great she looked in her own cloths again. She hadn't lost much weight since the apocalypse. They still clung to her slender body. He moaned inwardly to himself and tried to focus on not looking at her. He'd watched her sleeping all night like some kind of creepy stalker hiding in her closet.

She took a plate from T-dog with a nod of thanks and moved to the one empty chair that happened to be across from him. No one wanted to look at his hung over scowl anyway. She sat down and brushed some of the hair out of her face, taking in how he wasn't looking at her and focused fully on his food, one hand gripping his fork in a death grip and the other placed flat against the cold metal of the table. She looked down at her own plate and his eyes instantly rose to steal a look at her while she was distracted. When she glanced up his eyes snapped back down.

Piper sighed and leaned back, wondering what was going on in his head. Slowly she reached on and let her little fingers drift over his hand, his blue eyes instantly snapping to the two limbs. He gritted his teeth as he felt the familiar sparks of her light touch.

_Pull away, _he told himself. _Pull away now. _He found his hand turning over so that her fingers fell into the palm of his much larger hand. He watched, mesmerized, as the tips of her fingers drew small circles on his skin. He glanced at her and saw a smile considering smile play on her lips as she took in the texture.

Her green eyes drifted up and caught his hard blue ones. Confusion radiated from the blue orbs and she gave him a comforting little smile.

They both looked up as Glenn groaned in one of the chairs. "God guys…Sorry about last night."

They both pulled their hands away from each other quickly. "Is fine China man." Daryl grunted.

"No really." Glenn winced at the sound of his own voice. "You guys needed to make up or whatever and I got in the way…"

"Seriously Glenn." Piper told him quietly, her fingers twitching at the loss of contact with Daryl's skin. "It's fine."

"Well I hope everything turned out okay when I left-"

Daryl growled. "Just shut up boy." He muttered angrily, pushing himself up to get more coffee. Piper gave Glenn a little nod and pushed him a water glass across the table as Jenner walked in.

* * *

Piper shifted on her feet as she watched everyone panicking about the on coming explosion, feeling numb all of the sudden. She could hear Daryl grunting as he banged at the door with an ax, trying to get the blast doors to open. Lori and Carol were on the ground, crying with their children tucked close to them. The very room was pulsing with desperation, the air thick with it and throbbing like it had a life of its own.

The words that Jenner said with so much conviction racked at her soul, digging into her mind. She tried to let them not slip through but she knew they were. She had never thought about dying as a peaceful thing. But it could be right now. It could be a permanent way out…to never experience anything again. Nothing bad, nothing good. She could end it all...right now...if she wanted to.

She glanced over at Andrea and Jacqui, taking in the calm looks on their faces, the acceptance. They looked so peaceful.

"Piper!" Daryl screamed as the door slid open. "Let's go!" He looked at the girl looking at everyone, feeling his heart rate rise even more in his chest. Oh lord, she wasn't going to do this was she. He didn't want her to die after everything that they had gone through. He knew he'd fucked up but for it to end like this after pushing and trying so hard…it stung him like a wasp. She looked over at Daryl's horrified face. It was clear what he thought she was going to do to herself.

Piper looked over at Andrea and Jacqui. It could all be over in a split second. She could never feel the panic again. All of those feelings of lose, all of the pain, all of the heart ache and savagery. That little twang she felt every time she thought about her lost life could disappear. That's when she knew it for sure. She was** not **ready to die.

She took off fast, the numbness now gone to be replaced by that wild untamed energy. Daryl felt his heart release at the movement, relief running through him. He tossed her the ax as they ran up the steps.

She looked at it for a moment. "Daryl? How far?"

He smirked at her. How far did she want him to go? That's what she was really asking after the past few days. "Do yer worst." He told her solidly, making her grin uncontrollably. Yeah he wanted her to learn to control herself but he liked her like this too.

"NOW!" Rick yelled once the window exploded.

They ran through the yard with the rest of the group, hitting and killing walkers as they tried to get to the cars, knowing how little time there was. Piper winced as the ax caught into one of the walkers heads and she needed to stop to pull it out.

Daryl spun around as he reached his truck, expecting to see the girl right behind him. "PIPER!" He screamed when he saw her trying to pull the ax. She looked up at him. "Get over here!" He felt panic as he saw two walkers limping towards her.

Piper gritted her teeth and left the ax, pulling her knife. Daryl covered her with one shot at a walker and went to quickly reload. Piper was breathing hard while she was running towards him, a eerily looking walker dressed in a long black dress coming at her. Raising her knife she drove it into the walkers head as she continued to run.

"Shit!" Daryl knew that they were out of time and ran at her as fast as he possibly could, pulling her behind one of the barricades. He dove on top of her as the explosion sounded out, fire and sound filling the air over their heads.

Daryl covered her with his body, pinning her protectively, putting his large arms over most of their heads. He could feel her nails biting into his sides as his face pressed to hers, both of them gasping for breath.

"Dontcha ever hesitate like that again girl." He told her fiercely. He couldn't help it. Her little body was pressed under him delectably with his nose against hers. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly before craning his neck up to look over the barricade. "We gotta go." He muttered looking back down at her as she nodded.

Her heart was in her throat, pounding. She couldn't tell if it was from the deafening explosion or Daryl's body pressed so close to hers. Small drops of sweat ran down his neck and forehead, giving away just how bad that situation could have turned out. All she knew what that him on top of her didn't feel bad, like she had expected it to after the past few days. Not at all.


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, I just want to put out there why I have been able to write so much lately. I broke my leg and I'm in a full leg cast so basically I'm laid up at home doing nothing for a few weeks. Boo. But at least I've been able to pump out some nice stuff lately! Bright side! Despite my sick stories I am actually a very positive person! **

**vexingvixen7****: I think the only person who could ever tame someone who has gone wild is Daryl. He's the person that knows animals. **

**GatorGirl99****: Def but I really wanted her to start seeing him as a man and not just some infallible protector. **

**SaraLostInes****: I totally think he does! He loves the fact that she's wild. **

**Leyshla Gisel****: Me too! God all those muscles…yum. **

**gurl3677****: I think they are pretty close though I don't see Daryl as a verbal make up person. It was hard enough to write him saying that he was sorry. **

**Thank you to ****Emberka-2012****, ****jstarr713**** and ****Kit-cat99**** for also reviewing. **

**Favorite Line: **_**"Death is so….final. I don't think I'm ready for something that permanent yet."**_

**Chapter Sixteen:**

Piper sat in the back of the RV. It was unbelievably hot in the cramped space, making peoples already fried nerves even more tired. She leaned her head back against the wall and listened to the rumble of Daryl's motorcycle as he scouted a head.

He hadn't been happy about leaving his truck behind and she wasn't happy to be cramped up in the stuffy space with everyone but they both knew that it was important to conserve gas. Daryl had stared at her as she climbed into the RV, wishing that she was pressed behind him, but he hadn't said a word.

Tilting her head to the side she looked at Andrea, who was shooting death stares at Dale in the front of the RV. She could feel the tension rolling off the other women. Piper licked her lips before she spoke, still finding it hard to make conversation with people. "Why did you want to die?" She finally asked the other women quietly.

Andreas eyes shot to her. "You of all people should know why." Andrea snapped at her.

Piper clearly didn't know why though, her eye brows furrowing as she tried to sort it out. She knew that it was probably because of Amy, but all the same she was under the impression that her entire family was dead too. Everyone's family was dead at this point.

When Piper didn't answer and just looked confused Andrea elaborated. "Out here it's just….hell. From now on that's what it's going to be like. Running from place to place, losing people. There's just no point. No happiness." She paused. "Why did you want to live?"

Piper leaned her head back again and looked up at the ceiling. She remembered all of those nights in her tent, all of the days out hunting, feeling the rain drops pelting her skin as they just started to fall, what it felt like to swim in the cool water…what it felt like to make love in that same water. That was happiness. Unadulterated happiness. There were, of course, the shitty parts too. There was the rape, the cutting, the fear, the constant pushing of others. But when she thought about it hard, it was her that let the bad weigh out the good.

She looked back at Andrea, who seemed to be letting her consider. "If we're still alive we have a chance to be different. Death is so….final. I don't think I'm ready for something that permanent yet."

Andrea just stared at her, soaking in the words.

Piper swallowed before getting up and climbing into the front with Glenn and Dale as the RV slowed down and then stopped with an aged shake.

"Roads blocked." Dale muttered as Daryl pulled his bike around to the window. "Can you find a way through?"

Daryl gave a little nod, catching Pipers eye before looking down to gun his bike back to life. Piper smiled as she watched him take off, biting her lip in that cute way that she knew he liked. Seeing the angel wings on the back of his leather cut made her want to laugh. She watched his strong arms stretched out on the handles and remembered the way they felt wrapped around her naked body. She shook the thought off quickly, as Dale started up the RV and started to push through the cars.

What was it about a bad boy on a motor cycle? She had really never had a thing for bad boys until that particular moment. Something in her gut told her it was going to be a life-long obsession.

Dale hissed as the RV smoked and came to another halt.

"Shit." Piper muttered climbing back and out into the hot sun.

"Hose blew?" Daryl asked, coming back over on his bike, as everyone else came out of their cars to see what was going on.

"Told everyone that hose wouldn't get us far." Dale muttered, popping the hood.

Piper leaned over as Dale pointed out the duck take clad hose. She memorized it before she looked around at all the cars. Walking over to open and opening the hood of a van and found something similar but not completely alike. She closed it before looking in the back seat. Everyone else started looking around for supplies. At this point she wasn't worried about the ethics of louting so she ignored the conversation.

Finding a pack she reached in, attracted to the cold stainless steel like a ferret to a quarter. She smiled as she pulled out a gleaming all steel hatchet, raising her eyebrows at the new style construction of it. When she thought about hatchets they were always the kind you would see in an old Cowboys and Indian movie. This one was sturdy, shinning and looked very deadly. She smiled and found the cloth case for it.

Going over to another car, she pulled open the hood again. A steam of heat from the enclosed area rose up, so hot from the Georgia sun that she was sure her face had gotten burnt.

Daryl shook his head as he watched her silent activity and started to pop open trucks of the cars and began to pull supplies. He glanced at her and noticed the trail of sweat running down her slender neck. He licked his lips as he watched the drop of moisture roll down her sun stained skin.

Piper close the hood and glanced up, seeing a corpse sitting to the driver's seat. Its lifeless white eyes were staring at her with flies buzzing around the stillness of its mummified face. She leaned forward against the burning hood and studied it. The bones in his face were still and poised hair straw like and stiff. Its cheeks were sunken in and…disgusting. No, she was most definitely not ready for that.

She started with a little jump when she felt a hand on the small of her back. Whirling around she breathed a sigh of relief to see it was Daryl. He dangled a bottle of water in front of her as he leaned against the car. "Find a new toy?" He smiled as she held it out for him to study. "Nice." He smirked as he thought that Shane was not going to be happy about her having that, but he was. He liked seeing her with pointy objects.

Piper took the water and leaned next to him. "You thought I was going to kill myself?" She asked him after a minute and a few sips of the warm liquid. She didn't remember warm water ever being so satisfying.

Daryl looked down at the ground and nodded. "Yeah."

"It scared you?"

He grunted another non-committal affirmative.

Piper pushed a loose strand of hair that had escaped from her French braid back behind her ear, drawing his attention to her sweat streaked neck. "I don't have a death wish Daryl. Don't worry about me committing suicide. It's not going to happen."

Daryl frowned and looked back down at his feet, biting his nails nervously. If anyone had a right to want to die it wasn't Andrea. It was her. But she was a fighter. He should have known that. Her body was constantly taunt and ready for a fight, ready to defend herself. "Good ta know." He muttered, looking back up at her.

Piper nodded, pursing her lips together as she stared at him. "So we're good?" She asked quietly.

Daryl nodded slowly. "Yeah. Might not be after this though." He muttered before leaning over and doing what he had wanted to do since she had gotten out of that stupid, over heated RV.

Piper started slightly, closing her eyes and leaned back further against the car as she felt his tongue run up the side of her neck, leaving a clean line where the sweat had been. She shivered as his tongue skimmed over her pulse point and gripped his shoulder tightly.

Daryl pulled away with a little grin at how sweet even her sweat tasted on his tongue. He wanted more but he wasn't going to take it. "We still good?" His husky voice murmured.

Piper bit her lip as she opened her eyes to look at his serious face again. She nodded furiously at him, surprised by the fact that her body was reacting so well to him again.

Daryl squinted his eyes at her. "That's the last time though. I aint gunna touch ya again. Not til ya beg me ta." She frowned at him, her little eyebrows furrowing. "Ya need ta be sure next time." He muttered. "Need ta trust me an' know that I'm just a man…I aint yer savior."

Piper nodded before leaning forward and running her fingers along his dirty cheek as he stared at her. Not her savior…that was funny considering he was wearing that angel cut and looking like some sort of gruff, disillusioned, fallen angel.

"Daryl." They heard Rick hiss, making them break eye contact and look at the other ducked man as he gestured wildly. "Walkers!"

Daryl's head whirled around and looked over the cars to see a large group of walkers dragging themselves perilously slowly down the highway. "Shit." He looked around quickly. "Get in the car." He told her as she straightened and prepared to fight. "I said get in the god damned car Piper!" He yanked the back door open.

"I can take them." She was anxious to try out her new 'toy'.

Daryl growled and pushed her into the back seats floor boards. "Ya wanna be my women? Fuckin act like it and do what I say! Get on them floor boards and don't move til I come and get ya." He hissed. "Got me?"

Piper nodded up at him before he threw one of the blankets from the car over her, not even noticing that there was blood on it until after. The dead man in the front and the gore on the plain, black blanket would mask her scent. "Don't move." He told her before closing the door quietly.

Piper scowled under the blanket and looked up into it, seeing the bright light of the hot Georgia day shining through the fibers. It smelled like blood and death. She inhaled it and tried not to gag, closing her eyes and wondering where Daryl was.

She could hear the un rhythmic scuffing of walkers outside of the car. The vehicle shook as one of the Walkers dumped into it, causing the body in the front seat to fall with a dry thud. She held her breath as she heard one of the walkers stop to investigate, gripping her knife and the handle of her new hatchet so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Finally the walker moved on and she relaxed her muscles with great effort, letting out a quiet little breath, heating the overly warm blanket even more.

After what seemed like years she heard the car door open silently. She re-gripped the knife and waited until she felt a large hand reaching out for her. The moment she could she sat up and struck. Daryl jumped back fast and with a curse as she lunged. The knife nearly gave him a new scar to regret across his chest.

"Piper! No." He growled as quietly as he could as to not draw the herd back. "God, girl stop being so damn crazy!" He could clearly see the wild look in her huge green eyes. It was….hot. Damn hot. He waited until she was totally out of the car and put the knife away, her wild eyes darting in the direction of the herd.

She took a deep breath, seethed the knife and loosening her grip on the hatchet. "Is everyone okay?" She asked.

Daryl frowned and shook his head. "Two of the walkers went after the little girl. Ricks getting her. T-Dog slit his arm open. Already took him ta Dale."

"The little girl? Sophia?" She asked him looking over to the railing where everyone was standing. She liked the little girl…knew what her father had done to her. She couldn't deny that she wanted to help the little one because of the abuse. "We have to help!" She went running to the railing but Daryl stopped her, grabbing her around the waist mid run.

"No. No running around in the woods fer ya!" He told her, hauling her back.

She turned to him. "But…she's just a little girl." Her mind worked through all of the possibilities. Walkers weren't the only danger in the woods. What if another man like the one who took her found the child? The thought was nauseating. She looked at Daryl with determination, her taunt little muscles flexing as she prepared to charge for the woods again. "Come with me or let me go find her."

Daryl gritted his teeth and looked out into the woods. There was clearly something more to her wanting to go out and he knew that couldn't stop her without pinning her down again and regressing them again. "Okay, okay. Glenn, T-dog. Let's go." He said, his face hardening as Shane followed too, commanding the others to stay put and that they would be back.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you to everyone who asked about my leg! Your caring is really sweet! My husband and I went rock climbing and my leg got caught and then I jerked it the wrong way like a complete idiot trying to get it loose. I'm awesome at water sports but get me in the air and I'm an idiot!**

**gurl3677 & Leyshla Gisel : I shivered as I wrote it!**

**Emberka-2012: She's definitely wanting to fight but she's wild like an animal! Its not always the best thought out. Her fight or flight reflect is definitely geared towards fight at this point.**

**Kit-cat99 & GatorGirl99: I think that in the first few chapters she saw him as this kind of euphoric angel like creature that saved her. She cant see him like that and have a real relationship with him. She needs to know that he can fuck up and be a horny bastard but still not want to hurt her.**

**Thank you to jinxleah, vexingvixen7, Melanie, Melissa, BelmontCalyx, Jenn and DeadandGone1992 for all of your reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**Favorite Line: "You're not going to hurt anyone right Piper?"**

**"Not unless they deserve it."**

Chapter Seventeen:

Piper and Glenn split up into one team. Daryl was supposed to be with them but he always slinked to the side or a head, following something that the other two couldn't see. Shane and T-Dog went in another direction looking for any sign of Rick.

Daryl whistled, drawing the two's attention and pointed to their upper right, signaling where to go. Glenn shrugged but Piper seemed to understand him and pulled the boy along with her. Daryl shook his head in slight frustration that there was no one else he trusted to leave her with, or that she trusted enough to stay with. He muttered irritated gibberish under his breath about how reckless she was before heading straight ahead of him into the thick undergrowth.

It felt nice to be back in the woods. The air was cooler under the trees and the sun wasn't as bright. She liked being out here. She was scared at first that she would freak out after she had been brought back out after the attack of being alone in the woods. It turned out to be refreshing when Daryl had started to teach her to hunt. She liked the constant movement of the leaves in the light breeze and the way that the streams of sun reflected off of the rocks and tree trunks. It was…peaceful.

Piper heard before she saw Rick struggling towards them, covered in dirt and sweat, panting. Her heart dropped when she didn't see the little girl with him but speed up again as she saw a walker limping up behind the distracted man as he started to explain the situation to them in staggered gasps.

"Rick! Down!" Piper yelled. He did immediately and Piper gripped the hatchet tight, trying to remember what it felt like to learn how to throw the knife at the camp. She remembered Daryl's words: aim steady, widen your stance, breath out as you throw. She hurled it over Ricks head with all the strength she had, sending it off with a whirling sound. It connected into the walkers left eye enough to send its dead body flying back but not enough to end it. Stepping over Rick, she pulled it out with a grunt and struck it in the head again, practically splitting the bone down the middle.

Daryl ran back towards them at the sound of her shouting Rick's name. He saw her plop down next to the walkers body, breathing hard and rubbing her nose with her knuckles. "Everyone good?"

"Yeah…" Rick pulled himself up as Shane and T-Dog ran through the woods and up to them, pointing their guns around wildly. He looked at Piper closely as she tucked her knees under her and looked at the walker body she sat next to with her head cocked to the side. "She got it."

Daryl looked at the girl sitting on the ground next to the walker body and the gleaming weapon stuck in its head. "Good girl." He muttered walking over and pulling the hatchet out of the walkers head before reaching out a hand to help her up.

Piper took his hand and let herself get pulled up back into a standing position, her perfect little body close to his larger frame. He tried to remember how perfect it felt wrapped around him. Daryl gave her a nod of approval, face so close to hers he could feel her sweet breath across his lips and held the weapon out to her.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Asked Shane angrily as she whipped the blood and brain matter off of the blade on her jeans.

She didn't answer him and Daryl stepped in. "She found it in one of them cars."

Shane rolled his brown eyes at her. "She can't have that," He took a step towards her. "Give it." He told her with an extended hand, making sure to keep a good distance as Daryl glared at him, remembering his promise at the CDC. Piper looked at him hard, daring him to try and take it.

"Shane," Rick warned.

Shane shook his head angrily. "That crazy chick doesn't need anymore weapons Rick. She's dangerous enough with that knife Daryl gave her. God knows what she could do with something like that."

"She saved my life." Rick told the other man solidly. "Piper, we need to get you some gun training soon." Shane rubbed the back of his head with an exasperated noise of irritation. Rick looked at him sharply. "You're not going to hurt anyone right Piper?"

"Not unless they deserve it." She said, green, narrowed eyes still locked on Shane. Daryl and Glenn glanced at each other with little smirks at the attitude radiating off of her.

She licked her lips and tried to remember what Daryl had said about needing to learn to control herself. She couldn't kill Shane…not until he really, REALLY did something stupid. It was clear that Rick wasn't going to take away her defense so she had no reason to be hostile. She'd won this round. Honestly, probably a few more just for having good aim. Locking herself down, she tucked the hatchet away, noticing how Shane's eyes followed it.

"Where's the girl?" Glenn asked, breaking the tensed silence.

Rick nodded, looking from Shane to Piper, the tenseness in between them thick. "I hid her. This way."

Shane kept looking back at where Piper and Glenn were walking. Daryl was a little bit behind them, watching all of their backs expertly. Shane wished that Glenn or someone else had found her in the woods. Not the red neck who now seemed to have made it his personal responsibility to keep the out of control girl safe.

He glanced over at his old partner. "I'm tellin' you Rick. She's unbalanced."

Rick frowned at him closely. "She's not unbalanced Shane! She just protects herself and Daryl! Stop pushing her and maybe she wouldn't fight you back so hard!" He was actually starting to find that he liked the little girl. She was quiet but when she said things they tended to matter. She took care of the kids but didn't coddle them. She was fast to react in a bad situation. He was sure that she could be an asset as long as everyone knew the ground rules around her. It wasn't hard not to touch someone after all.

Shane frowned at Rick. "You really think that redneck gives a shit about what happens to any of us? She's a dangerous little pet for him to have."

"See," Rick muttered so that neither Daryl or Piper would hear the insensitive words. "It's things like that, that probably make her want to stab you…and him too for that matter."

Piper rolled her eyes as she saw Shane look back at her again and resisted the urge to throw rocks at the back of his head. "I wish he'd just give me a reason." She muttered as Daryl glanced over at her.

"Cool yer jets darlin'." He muttered to her, putting a hand on her back to keep her close to the group.

Piper frowned and stopped, making him halt his purposful steps with her. "He's calling me your pet."

Daryl frowned and glanced forward to Shane. "He's an arrogent little fucker." He muttered down to her. "Yer not my pet. He's just pissed cause yer my bitch and not his...just like ya wanted ta be. Don't ya worry bout him. Ya got me, an' Glenn an' it's lookin' like Rick. So just dont do nothin' stupid."


	18. Chapter 18

**Melissa: Not too weird of a question! I've asked weirder! Its Green (My fav color) My husband wanted me to get a camo one and I had to tell him that he was a dirty redneck :P Stupid country boys. I have a weakness.**

**Leyshla Gisel****: I thought that was funny! **

**gurl3677****: She kind of is like his little pit bull though when I think about it! I'd take that job.**

**JavaNut****: Yeah I don't have the best luck. I should have known it would happen to me. But hey! I have all these happy pills they gave me! Only down side is that they interfere with my ability to spell check and then I go back the next day and read something and I'm like "What the hell does this say!?" **

**Caffiend04****: If I was in a zombie/ walker apocalypse I would be stocking up on so many weapons it wouldn't even be funny. I never got the whole sticking to one weapon thing. I mean I guess it makes more sense in terms of character identification….but I would use everything that I could get my greedy little fingers on. **

**Thank you to ****Emberka-2012****, ****jinxleah****, ****motherofdragons93****, and ****Kit-cat99****.**

**I know this isn't a very eventful chapter but I needed to write it to get where we wanted to go! If you are reading please REVIEW!**

_**Favorite Line: "Yum."**_

**Chapter Eighteen: **

Daryl kept Piper at his side as they walked through the forest, tracking as best as they could in the darkening evening air. They were going to be losing daylight soon and he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to try and keep tracking in the dark. He could do it…but not while watching out for her and Rick. Piper kept veering off to the side and he kept a close eye out.

At times Daryl would snap his fingers at her to draw her attention and nod to a cave in grass or a broken branch, silently showing her what he was looking for without having to say a word. He knew that if anyone else asked him they would be all about asking questions, speculating or doubting that the signs were from what he said it was. Piper just gave him a little nod back and looked out for more markers. That was the only reason he did it with her and no one else.

Pet…that was a horrible thing to call her but he had to admit, she was a bit like a little hunting dog for him to train. He smirked at the thought.

"Would be better if we could get a bird's eye view." Rick said as they walked.

"I aint climbing no trees." Daryl told him solemnly as he glanced around, his heavy bow raised.

Piper pursed her lips before taking her hunting knife and hatchet off her belt, handing them to Rick without a word. She walked over to one of the trees and looked up at it, pulling off her shoes before jumping up to grab a branch and pulling herself up.

Daryl and Rick both watched in silence at how easy she did it. Daryl watched as her strong little muscles worked, curving and flexing as her fingers and toes gripped the bark.

_Just like gymnastics when you were little, _she thought to herself. _Think about mom on the balance beam. Think about ballet class. Toes pointed, barely touching the ground. There you go…you're walking on air again. _She smiled to herself, remembering the feeling that was as close to flying as a person could get. Reaching up she felt the rough, sun warmed bark of a thicker, steadier branch above her. She smiled and jumped the little bit of distance, hanging off it with her forearms wrapped around the top and side.

Rick ran over to the underside of the tree thinking that the girl was going to fall to her death. She was getting high enough to really injure herself.

Daryl squinted up into the branches and saw Piper using both her legs and arms to pull herself onto the thick ones. She stood up and steadied herself before walking out further onto the branch. He followed under her in case she fell, confident that he could catch her easily if he really needed too. She seemed sure of herself though as she moved further out to look over the area in front of them.

She looked good up there, glancing down at him with perfect balance, her bright green eyes shining. She looked even more like some kind of animal then she normally did, slinking through the branches like some sort of areal predator. He liked it…more than liked the way her little body moved. He gave her a little nod before looking out in front of them.

Piper looked out too, squinting through the leafs. She licked her lips and then looked back at Daryl. She held her finger out, pointing at a staggering walker just over a crevasse in the earth. She then looked back at Daryl and Rick, who had come over to look up at her. She held up her finger to indicate "one" before making a shooting gesture with her thumb and index finger.

Both Daryl and Rick gave a nod of understanding and she moved back to climb down. Daryl held up his hand, telling for her to stay. She was as safe as she was ever going to be up high in the tree. She nodded and leaned on the tree, watching Daryl and Rick walk away.

She had a good view of them though, glancing from one to the other. She watched Daryl longer of course, taking in the way he moved with sure steps though the woods, the way his leanly muscled shoulders moved under the fabric of the ratty sleeveless shirt.

His words kept echoing through her head. _I'm just a man…I aint yer savior. _Why couldn't he be both? After the CDC it was hard not to look at him as a man. She knew that they had already had sex in the lake but even then he had been more gentle with her then at the CDC. She frowned as she thought about it. She really should just make a mental list of all of her issues before trying to cross them all out at once.

She watched as he knelt opposite Rick as Rick whistled for the walker. When it started its trudging run towards the cop. Daryl took it out with a swift bolt right as it snarled at Rick.

Daryl frowned and walked over to the body, looking down at it before up and over at the tree Piper was still standing in. Sighing he walked over to it, not sure if she could have seen him motion to come down from it. "Yer clear." He told her as he walked.

He heard before he saw anything, a slight pop and snap followed by a tussle of leafs. "Fuck!" He finished the few feet from where he stood to the tree and attempted the most poorly executed catch of his life. Both of them went slamming to the ground as she hit him, her landing on top of him.

"Dammit…" She groaned, rolling over off him and to his side.

Daryl grabbed her back tightly right as the branch that had snapped under her feet came tumbling down from where it had become lodged and landed right where she had been rolling. Finally all was still and Daryl threw his head back against the grass, letting out a long breath of relief as he felt her little bit of weight on his arm. He tried to push back the little bit of heat that rushed through him at the way her body had collided with his. Tried to forget what she tasted like. He tried to think about dead cats and flies to calm himself quickly. It worked for now but he knew that the next time he was going to have to think about something worse to push down any physical reactions he had.

Piper rubbed the back of her neck as it ached but glanced over at him. If he didn't want her to see him as her savior, he should probably stop running in to save her.

"Everyone okay?" Rick asked running up to them. Both looked up at him and nodded, Daryl pulling himself from the ground and walking back over to the walker body. "Nothing broken Piper?" Rick asked.

She shook her head no again but continued to lay there for a moment, catching her breath. "Just a few splinters and scratches." She told him before standing up slowly. "Can I have my stuff back?"

Rick nodded and held out the weapons to her before they followed Daryl back over to the walker body. Rick leaned over it, looking for something closely.

Daryl glanced over at Piper who stood with her arms crossed. He could see one long scratch coming down her forearm with a thin trail of crimson hot liquid leaking from it. Why did he always seem to be staring at her in the presence of a dead body? Even he had to admit it was kind of…twisted.

"It's got skin under its nails." Rick muttered, taking his gloved hand and sticking it in the walkers mouth. Daryl held back a laugh at the scrunched up face Piper made as she watched Rick pull out a stringy looking piece of skin.

"Yum." She muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Rick pulled out his little razor cutter and Daryl scoffed, stepping over the body and holding out his hand to Piper. She pulled her knife and handed it over to him as he caught her eyes. This was…familiar. He looked back at Rick. "Let me do it. How many catches had ya killed and gutted. Sides, mines sharper."

He looked back at Piper who was staring at the walker with an odd expression on her face. Frowning he reached over and pulled her to him whispering in her ear, "…This aint the same man."

Rick watched, unable to hear the words but seeing the silent conversation going on between the two, the brutal, truthful understanding of two people that were so messed up that they needed each other to fill the holes in them. Daryl gave her a little push away and took a deep breath before lifting the knife and driving it into the once-man chest.

Piper turned to the side quickly, coving her mouth as the feelings that came with gutting her own prey washed over her. She held back the anger and the tears hard, focusing on the feeling of relief that had come over her when she knew he was good and dead.

When she looked back Daryl was making the second slice, scrunching up his face as Rick covered his own mouth and nose to try and hold back the scent. The knife dragged down and for the first time she realized how right her first time had been. It smelled dead…decaying organs putrid and warmed from the hot Georgia sun. The sound of the knife smashing into dead flesh was moist, like it was already rotting from the inside out. It rose into all of their noses and threatened to gag them all.

"Arg." Piper muttered, "That smells so much worse than…" She stopped when she saw Rick looking up at her. She covered her nose again and watched Daryl work, his chest jerking and arms flexing. His own face showed just how disgusting this really was. He whipped his nose off with the back of his arm to avoid the gooey black muck on his gloved hands. He dove into the body, feeling around, glancing at Piper to make sure she wasn't vomiting.

"Yeah…boss had a big meal not ta long ago. I can feel it in there…" He muttered, making Rick look away again. He pulled out the stomach pouch and set it on the ground. Rick pulled out his knife but hesitated and finally Piper took it as Daryl continued to try and rub his nose to try and get the smell out.

"I've got it." Piper said taking the little blade from him and using it to rip open the stomach bag. The three of them shifted through the contents. She pulled out a little skull on the end of Ricks blade and held it up for Daryl.

He considered it, squinting. "This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck fer lunch."

Piper looked at it closely too before flinging it off her blade and handing it back to Rick.

"At least we know." Rick muttered.

"Yeah at least we know." Daryl muttered back, getting up and flinging his cross bow back over his shoulder.

The two men started to walk away as Piper pulled herself up from the ground. She looked down at the shredded body, considering what he might have been before. Now he was just a shadow…but wasn't that what she was too?

"Piper." Rick called back to her, but she stayed rooted to the spot, still looking down. The two men glanced at each other before Daryl walked back over to her.

"Need ta get back girl." He told her quietly. When she didn't respond he studied her face. "Stop lookin at it like that girl…it aint comin' back."

Piper nodded. "Neither am I…right?" The words sounded hallow. They weren't even sad in that moment, just looking for a simple truth.

Daryl frowned, stripping his dirty gloves off his hands and tucking them into his belt. "Yer alive."

Piper shook her head. "I'm nothing like I was before, just like him."

Daryl felt a low growl building up in his throat. "Maybe I aint made this clear enough fer ya. But yer fine the way ya are. Don't mind ya being an animal sometimes." Not at all. No normal girl would be able to do that with him. He'd seen girls gag when he had a deer shot in the back of his truck. He didn't know how she was before he had found her, when there had still been goodness in the world, but he knew he liked this version well enough. It was strong, wild…badass.

Piper continued to look down at the body, remembering when she was torn to shreds just like that. "I trust you and you can barely touch me."

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows and slowly raised a sweaty hand, putting it in between her shoulder blades. "Touchin' ya now." He told her, trailing his thumb down her spine.

She finally looked up at him, catching his blue eyes which were oddly enough soft at that moment. "That's not what I mean and you know it."

Daryl gave her a little grunt and nodded. "Takes time. Yer gunna be just fine." He leaned over and placed his head against hers, begging her to understand. "Come on now. We gotta go."


	19. Chapter 19

**Leyshla Gisel: I always thought his reaction was funny too! And then he was all like "I can do it" for the stomach. I just started laughing so hard cause it was like: Yeah Rick…you can open up that little belly pouch but Daryl had to go digging around wrist deep in that thing for it!**

**Emberka-2012 : Sadly for them normal is digging into bodies :P**

**ArmedWithMyComputer: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I only had mine put on a week and a half ago so I've still got a long way to go! I really want to get back to work so I'm starting to get crazy!**

**SaraLostInes: He's a smart cookie but something tells me he would get it…most of all if he doesn't figure it out until mid season 2.**

**Melanie: Its what's getting me through too!**

**gurl3677: Fine! You sound like my mom with my ex's! :P**

**Kit-cat99: I think that's exactly what he's trying to do. He can't say it but he wants to get into her head and doesn't know how.**

**gypsykl79 : Thank you!**

**Favorite Line: _"Shut up…just stop protecting me and let me enjoy kissing you again."_**

**Chapter Nineteen:**

Daryl walked out of the camper and into the dead of night, rubbing his face. He'd been shifting all night, uncomfortable on the dirty floor while listening to Carol cry pitifully, trying to hide it unsuccessful and hearing Andrea playing with the guns and clips. He had listened hard for Pipers soft little breaths but couldn't find them with all of the other noises thickening the stuffy air. He figured she was on the top of the RV with Dale, sitting in the silence that she surrounded herself with.

He looked up into the night sky, letting his eyes fall to the top of the Winnebago with a frown. Only Dale was up there. "Where is she?" He asked the old man, knowing that Dale would know exactly who he was talking about.

Dale nodded forward into the pile up of cars. "I can see her. She's safe." He told him gently.

Daryl grunted but didn't look convinced, walking in the direction where the old man had pointed. Sure enough she was laying on top of one of the abandon cars just a little bit away from the group. One of her legs was bent at the knee with the other crossing over it; the only sign he had that she wasn't dead on top of the low car. She was looking up into the night, her eyes glazed over as she didn't really take in anything.

Daryl leaned heavily against the car, looking her over to make sure she was alive before glancing up at the sky. He was a bit surprised when, without looking at him, she reached over and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"It always freaks me out that the sky doesn't look any different than it did six months ago." She finally said. "It's like…nothing happened."

Daryl looked over his shoulder at her and then squinted up into the sky, studying it for a moment. He'd never really paid attention before but she was right. It looked the same as it had when he was out in some field at a bonfire party during high school; the same as last year when he went squirrel hunting.

He cleared his throat. "Ima go on a walk." He muttered.

Piper finally turned her head to look at him, hair blowing in the night breeze. "Is that a request for me to come with you?" He grunted something that sounded like it might have been an affirmative and she pulled herself up, swinging her legs so they were dangling off the side of the car. His hand found her waist to help her jump down, though he knew after the woods today she didn't need it.

They started walking towards the woods walking a little bit apart with Piper's arms crossed over her chest. She wanted to be close with Daryl but she still felt tense. It seemed like they were starting all over again. She wished they could just push back to that night at the lake. Even before the outbreak and the attack she had never experience any one that….amazingly tender. Daryl's eyes shot up to Dale when he asked them if that was a good idea. It was them. If there were two people in this group that could defend themselves it was the wild girl and the hunter.

Pipers eyes shifted to his in the night, looking like the same dark green that had settled over the trees in the night. He couldn't help but look back at her. "You think there are more guys like that out here…with the girl?"

Daryl frowned and shook his head. "If there are then ya know what ta do wit em." He reminded her. "Think it's just the woods out here anyway."

Piper nodded slowly and looked around. "It was just the woods with me too."

"Nothin like that's gunna happen ta her Piper." He told her solidly. "We'll find her. Its just the god damned woods." He told her the story about getting lost in the woods as a child, making her snort.

Piper stopped her steps. "Someone should have gone looking for you." She told him.

Daryl turned to her, looking at her sharply. Would she have come after him if the world hadn't ended? No, she wouldn't have thought anything of him. "That's why Sophia has an advantage." He turned his eyes away and scanned the area, distracting himself by making sure there were no threats.

Piper nodded and looked around them. "I think that's the most you've ever told me about yourself." She muttered, drawing his eyes back to her. She knew he wasn't a sharing kind of person. She could already tell from the way he stepped into Shane and snapped at Glenn that he didn't want to even share her attention.

"Aint nothing ta tell." He told her. She already knew enough. She knew his scars, knew about Merle giving some of them to him, knew that he was brutal…but gentle to her when she had needed it most. What else did she want?

Piper nodded, turning to look into the woods again. "I love avocado's." He looked at her strangely. "Avocados and music are the two things I miss. My friends always used to make fun of me because I would eat them whole." She looked over at him again as his expression switched to an amused, teasing one.

"Avocado's." He repeated with a laugh. Out of all the things to miss in this world this little girl missed imported fruit and vegetables.

Piper blushed at his teasing tone and the cheeky grin on his face before nodding. "Now you know something about me besides the fact that I was a dancer."

Daryl rubbed the back of his head thinking about it. "I know more about ya then ya think girl. Ya told me a lot when we was in yer tent all those nights…"

Piper bit her lip and nodded. His voice had a distinct sound of longing in it. She couldn't blame him. She missed those nights too; missed feeling his rough hands running along her body, missed the way he looked up at her with those hooded blue eyes when she was sitting on top of him. She missed swimming around with him watching her like a hawk. She missed him wanting to touch her. Now he flinched his reactions away, trying to hide them…and doing a really bad job. "I guess I did." She murmured more to herself then him.

Daryl couldn't help but stare at her profile watching the raw emotions that passed over it in the dark when she thought he couldn't see them. Her fingers twitched against her pant leg as if longing to touch something.

She finally glanced back to him before taking a step closer. He stepped back to give her more space but Piper reached out and grabbed his rough hand, giving him a soft tug back and winding her fingers through his. Pushing herself up on her toes she kissed his lips lightly, experimentally, to make sure that she didn't freak out. His finger fell to her waist and made the skin where her tank top and jeans separated tingle pleasurably.

"Piper…" Daryl felt himself groaning with his eyes closed. He could feel her tight, strong little body in his hands, the warmth of her flooding into him. "Ya aint ready for this again…"

Piper smiled slightly and pulled herself just a few breaths away from his lips. "Shut up…just stop protecting me and let me enjoy kissing you again."

His knees could have buckled at the words but he didn't have time to notice, to intent on getting his lips to hers again. Her fingers gripped tightly into his shirt as his cupped her face in one hand, stroking her cheek as his tongue invaded her sweet little mouth. His other hand found her waist and pulled her closer lightly so that she knew she could get away if she really wanted. He could feel her body heat through his cloths, drawing him into her. He'd forgotten how good she tasted…how sweet her lips were against his, how her little tongue stroked his back and how soft her skin was...how could he have forgotten that?

Piper gasped a light sound into his mouth as he pulled her closer, his large fingers tightening and then loosening on her waist. She ran her hands up his strong chest as she felt his breathing hitch. His rough facial hair tickled her skin, intensifying the feeling of his soft lips against hers.

Finally they broke apart, but Daryl kept a loose grip on her, not wanting to lose the warmth of her against him. He felt like every time he kissed her could be his last chance after the last time in the truck. Sliding his hand from her cheek he brushed it across her bottom lip, his eyes following it. "So we're back ta this?" He murmured, finding his voice husky.

Piper's bright eyes were still closed as she gave a little nod. "Yes please."

Daryl grinned and brought his lips back to hers. He wanted this…even if it was just kissing. "Someday…" He muttered against her lips. "I am gunna want all of ya again." He paused as she pressed her lips to his hard again. "But…" Dammit all of his sentences were broken off by his need to be pressed against her sweet soft lips! "Ima hold off as long as I can…"

Piper smiled against him before pulling away and nodding, her arms wrapping up and around his neck to play with the soft hair on the back of his neck. "I'm going to figure out how to get over it." She whispered up to him.

Daryl could swear he had never heard anything in his life that was so heart breaking. He didn't know what to do but pull her into him and hold her tight. He swore he could probably wrap his arms around her slender body twice. He leaned his chin on the top of her head, wishing that she could feel his thoughts through their contact…that she could feel that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"We need to get back." Piper finally muttered into his chest, holding herself tight to him.

She felt him nod against the top of her head, his warm breath moving through her hair and along her scalp. Neither of them made a move to leave.


	20. Chapter 20

**zaii****: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I post pretty regularly so it shouldn't be too long of a wait! **

**Emberka-2012****: Very, very, very true. Plus it's not like Piper or Daryl are the most ethical or normal. **

**gurl3677****: I thought that was a cute one too! I should really start just writing one liners for people. **

**Leyshla Gisel****: I think that's exactly where she is at. She likes him, she trusts him but at the same time there is always that nagging thought in the back of her head that he is capable. **

**jstarr713****: Lol I married a Texas Redneck so I get to deal with that daily. Should have just stuck to Georgia. :P but I'm a Philly girl so its still funny to me. **

**GatorGirl99****: Lol I'm glad you liked it! Why would you be mad at her?**

**Kit-cat99****: Yep! Could stay away long! **

**Javanut: YAY! **

**sdwafford****: You've got good taste. I promise ;) **

**HerAngrierGnome****: Thank you! I am trying to keep him as hard as possible. I mean that's half of the reason he likes Piper; because she's vicious and bat shit crazy sometimes. **

_**I couldn't figure out what my fav line in this chapter was so tell me yours!**_

**Chapter Twenty: **

The rest of the group at the highway was in a bustle, trying to get ready to head to the farm where Carl was being taken care of. Piper finished loading some of the supplies onto the hood of one of the abandon cars before looking out into the woods her fingers rubbing on a bottle of water. Carol was standing at the railing, looking in the same direction. Piper sighed and looked away, taking in the rest of them getting into the RV and Daryl stuffing some of the last of his things into his bike's saddle bags.

He looked over at her, squinting his bright blue eyes before reaching out his hand for her to come. She glanced back at the still, peaceful woods again, wondering if she could just run into them and disappear for a few days. She could live with all of the other animals out there. She glanced back over at Daryl who was growing impatient and smiled to herself. It wouldn't do much if she did make an ethereal escape. It would probably take the hunter less than a day to find her hiding in the trees.

"Aint got all day girl." Daryl called over. Finally Piper walked over to him, looking at the motorcycle skeptically. "Ya want with me or in the RV?"

"You." She told him, not thinking that she could take anymore crying right now. The RV was filled with the tenseness and sounds of sobbing woman. It overwhelmed her, caught in her ears and rung. She had never been on one of these things before. One of her ex's had had a motorcycle, one of those little 'crotch rockets' as some people called it, but it had looked nothing like this. This bike looked sturdy and steady. She watched as Daryl tossed his leg over it and waited for her to climb on behind him. Piper let out a breath and swung her leg over behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders.

Daryl rolled his eyes at the light touch. "Yer gunna fly off holdin on like that." He mumbled back to her as he fired up the engine. Piper tightened her grip on his shoulders as she felt the bike jerk, making Daryl smirk. Taking one of her hands, he pulled it around his stomach. "Tighter!" He called back over the engine.

Once he pushed off the bike, her little digits tightened around the fabric of his shirt and her body slid up against his back. It was a short drive. She would be fine pressed up against him, giving them such much needed innocent contact, hopefully lulling her into security.

He heard her laugh with excitement as he picked up speed, tilting her head back to let the wind blow in her hair. He grinned at the sound, enjoying that she didn't seem scared at all. It was obvious that she had never done this before.

"Not so tight girl." He called back to her as he felt her arms clench perilously around his stomach. He glanced back when she squeezed tighter out of spite. He clenched his jaw and swirled the bike so that it tilted, feeling her tense up and squeeze her powerful legs at his sides.

"Bastard." She muttered once he straightened out with a chuckle of satisfaction.

Daryl glanced over his shoulder at her, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Gotta trust me Piper." He told her before looking back at the road. "I aint gunna let ya fall."

After a few long minutes of enjoying the breeze pelting her skin, Piper leaned her head against Daryl's shoulder blades, watching the farm land pass by them. They were odd at this point, her paradigm of him shifting. Before Daryl had been her savior; oddly enough he had been safe….not really a man in her eyes. After his drunken episode at the CDC she knew that he was a man and if she was going to be around him she had to accept that. Accept that he wasn't really safe at all. He could make mistakes, could mess up. He was capable of hurting her. It made this harder and her mind whirl at the thought of it, trying to fit the new information into what she already knew about him.

Daryl climbed off his bike as the rest of the cars pulled up to the front of the white farm house. He hated the moment where Pipers warm arms unwrapped from around him but tried to shrug it off.

As the others exited the RV and Rick, Lori and Shane came from the house Piper pulled her leg from the motorcycle but stayed perched on the seat, her legs crossed at the ankles. She watched as the other women hugged Lori and Rick, warm words and comfort passing in between them.

She couldn't imagine what it would be like to watch your own son get shot; the pain that would pass through you not knowing if you were going to be able to save them. From the look on Rick's face it was the most unimaginable emotional pain anyone could hope to never experience. Daryl clasped hands with Rick and Piper finally got off the bike, walking slowly over to them.

She reached out slowly, unsure and put a hand on Rick's shoulder, watching as his face loosened of its stress for a split second. She gave it a little squeeze before Rick swept in and hugged her. She tensed for a split second before forcing relaxation and rubbed his back comfortingly.

Daryl watched, rubbing his lip as she looked over to her side and locked eyes with him. The green orbs were soft…softer then he had ever seen them in the time that he had known her. He didn't know if it was because she was hugging Rick or because she was looking at him. Daryl gave her a little nod of approval.

"How is he?" Piper asked quietly.

Rick pulled away from her and held her at arm's length. He looked like he was tearing up, his light blue eyes shinning with tears that he was trying to hold back.

"He's going to be okay. Thanks to Hershal and his people." Lori nodded over to the group on the porch.

"And Shane." Rick said quickly, still holding her arms as he addressed the rest of them as well. "We would have lost Carl if it wasn't for Shane."

Piper pulled away from Rick's hands and sat back on the bike at the sight of the new people. She chewed on her bottom lip and played with the little contusion on her arm from falling out of the tree. One of the women of the group, the one they had seen on horse back, walked over to her slowly, making Daryl tense up and step closer to her, just in case he needed to hold her back. She had known Rick for a little while now, building trust. It was the farthest he had ever seen her get with someone besides him, but she still didn't want to take any chances.

"Would you like us to look at that?" The women asked kindly, looking at the long scratch. Piper quickly shook her head no, the curls from riding on the bike fly around her face. "Alright…well let us know if there is anything you can do. I'm Maggie." She held her hand out to them.

Both Daryl and Piper looked at it closely, neither taking it. "Daryl." He responded quickly. "This is Piper. She don't talk ta people she don't know."

"Oh. Well that's alright. Just let me know." Maggie told them.

Daryl gave her a curt nod as she walked away, looking at the two wild people over her shoulder. They were strange. The man actually looked like the one that they should be cautious of but the way he hovered over the petite girl made it seem like he was making sure she didn't do anything wrong. Maggie was going to have to ask Glenn about them; make sure they weren't dangerous.

Daryl glanced over at Piper as she watched the others walk into the house. He wanted to tell her that she had done well but didn't. He was proud of her for reaching out to touch Rick…even hugging him. At the same time he didn't like that she had been able to touch another man. He didn't want to lose her affection now…after everything. Now that he had told her to look at him like a man, he couldn't be sure that she wouldn't see all of his faults and that she wouldn't figure out that she could have someone better.

* * *

"Girl." Daryl muttered once they had finished their talk about how they were going to grid out the woods and start an organized search when Shane and Rick were up for it. He nodded her over and away from the rest of the camp. "Ima head out…start lookin for the girl."

"I heard." Piper told him with a quirked eyebrow. She had after all been standing with the rest of them, prepared to go out on a grid herself. Rick had stopped her though. He wanted teams, not people just wandering around.

Daryl glanced around them and lowered his voice, drawing them behind one of the tree's. "Don't want ya ta set up yer tent close ta the others got it?"

Piper looked at him questioningly. "I thought I was doing better today." She said, glancing over at Rick. Stupid her. For a moment there she had thought she was actually healing and had a positive interaction with someone. It stung her that apparently it wasn't enough to make her look more like a human being.

"Aint about that." Daryl muttered, looking over at the limping Shane. "Somethin' don't sit right about his story." He didn't want Shane near Piper if his suspicions about Shane returning with Otis's gun were true. If he was willing to kill Otis and cover it up to save Carl Daryl was pretty sure she was on the man's hit list too…right behind maybe one other person. "Just keep outta trouble til I get back."

Piper frowned. "I want to go." She told him solidly.

Daryl shook his head quickly, brushing lines of sweaty hair off his forehead. "Not til ya learn ta use a gun Piper." She pursed her lips and looked away in irritation. "Just keep an eye out fer me round here. Set up the tent and I'll teach ya ta fire one when I get back. We got us a deal?" He extended his hand, an attempt at being funny for a moment.

Piper sighed but nodded. "Fine. Just one tent?" She asked him, her annoyance still evident in her voice as she took his hand in an over exaggerated shake. She didn't know why he wouldn't take her. She was good in the woods, he had said so himself.

Daryl gave her a little tug forward, pulling his lips to hers in a swift kiss. "Two if ya don't want me in there." He murmured against her lips.

"What am I looking out for?" She asked breathlessly once he broke away. Daryl glanced up to where Shane was looking around and Piper made a noise of acknowledgment. "I'm always keeping my eye on him anyway." She said, that little bit of attitude that she had used in the forest towards the cop coming out.

Daryl grinned down at her. "Good smart girl." He growled, knowing that he sounded a bit like he was talking to a child or his dog. He moved to pull away but Piper grabbed his wrist stopping him. She looked like she was struggling to say something. "Just spit it out girl…I gotta get this done an' if ya keep holdin onta me I aint ever gunna leave."

Piper bit her lip and looked out over the tree line that she knew he was going to disappear into. She felt a little bit of panic rise in her when he said to set up only one tent. Not because she was afraid to sleep in the same tent with him again but because she wondered if he was going to make a run for it. Neither of them belonged in this group. He was anti-social and she was a 'killer…damaged….psycho ,' all those words that people had said and she had thought. Sure she was getting better but not quick enough to survive in this group if people thought she was a danger. "Just...you know if you left for good I'd probably eventually kill everyone right?"

Daryl squinted at her before realizing what she was asking. Shit, he thought to himself. He hadn't even thought really thought about leaving…but after Shane's story it was starting to look like walkers were the least of this groups problems. Did she really think that he would just leave her here with these people? Two months ago he might have left…but now that she was here? He didn't know. He had to find this little girl first that was for sure.

He stepped closer to her, heat in his bright eyes. "If I do decide ta leave, ya best believe that I'm takin ya with me Piper. Got me?"

Piper considered the serious look on his face. "Yeah I've got you." She finally said.


	21. Chapter 21

**SaraLostInes & Kit-cat99 : Hehehe yeah I thought that was a funny way for her to ask if he was leaving?**

**GypsyWitchBaby: Problem is I don't think either one of them has figured out that they love each other yet!**

**GatorGirl99: Thank you! Yeah I think that's a struggle for me too because I really want them to hook up completely but I don't think either of them is ready to admit that or put a name on their feelings either.**

**BelmontCalyx: Here's some fluff time for you!**

**jstarr713: Lol F-you Shane!**

**Thank you also to Leyshla Gisel, gurl3677, Emberka-2012 and JavaNut for commenting!**

**Favorite Line:**

_**"I thought I the whole point of me healing was I was supposed to be able to be touched people again."**_

_**"Yeah, me too."**_

**Chapter 21:**

Piper listened to T-dog and Dale talk as they got water. Apparently T-dog had gone through a delirious mental break down on the highway. She couldn't really blame him and she didn't. He had a blood infection. When they had gotten back at sun down that night he had been sweating like an ice cube in the sun. It was like her when she felt threatened…no control.

"Piper…can we keep this conversation to ourselves too?" T-dog asked as she wandered over to the well, noticing something was off about the wooden cover.

Piper glanced over at them as she walked. "You know me. Total loud mouth." She muttered making T-dog laugh. She leaned over and looked into the whole as the two men continued talking. "Guys…" She muttered as they continued to speak. "Dale!"

Dale looked over at her in surprise that she had spoken so loudly. She pointed into the well as T-dog continued to talk about combing the woods like Rambo. Dale's eyes lit up the instant he saw it and smashed the ladle out of T-dogs hand."You don't want to drink that." He told the other man.

The Dale and Piper leaned over the well looking down at the water bloated monstrosity clawing around in the bottom. Its fingers pushed against the rocks, skin moving like an over filled water balloon. T-dog had run to get the others to figure out what to do with it.

"We can't leave it down there….god knows what it's doing to the water." Lori muttered once they had all gathered.

"We can just put a bullet in its head." T-dog muttered.

"Woah, woah guys…no." Maggie told them seriously, making them all look at her.

Glenn looked at the women in surprise. "Why not? it's a good plan."

"It's a stupid plan." Andrea said irritated, making Piper nod her agreement.

"If it hasn't contaminated the water yet blowing its brains out sure will." Piper muttered, running her hands through her hair.

"So we need to get it out alive." T-dog mused.

"So to speak." Shane said and Piper could help but hold back a little smile. That was actually pretty good…for Shane.

"How do we do that?" Glenn asked.

"We need live bait." Shane glanced up at Piper. "How do you feel about swimming today sweetheart?"

Piper narrowed her eyes at him without saying a word, instead deciding to just flick him off with all the attitude she could muster. She knew how much he hated it that he was the one person she hadn't actually said one word to willingly. Daryl had told her to keep an eye on him…taunting him seemed like a good way to do it. Maybe he'd even try to push her in and she would have a reason to make him walker chow.

"Shane, just take it easy on her." Lori told him.

Shane rubbed the back of his head, glancing back at Piper. "I'm just saying…she small enough."

"Screw you Shane. Take care of it yourself!" Piper muttered before stomping off. She had the sneaking suspicion if it was someone else down in that well he would fight a lot harder to get them out again.

Glenn shook his head. "Why do you always have to push her? If she wanted to hurt any of us she just wouldn't have said anything about seeing it in there!"

"Whatever man. Let's just get this shit done." Shane muttered. He didn't know what it was about her but he just hated that she pushed away from him, that she avoided him and seemed to still be afraid of him. HIM! Not the dangerous, dirty, redneck, hunter that she shared a tent with most nights but a cop!

* * *

Piper went into the cooling house after she had finished setting up the tent, looking around for a moment, rubbing her fingers on her temples and closing her eyes. She sighed and moved into the living room, seeing the comfortable space, floral wall paper, pictures of friends and family. She took a deep breath before walking over to the old style piano, running her fingers along the chilly mahogany. She smiled gently down at it, closing her eyes and trying to remember what the old grand piano at the studio had sounded like.

"It was my grandfathers." Said a young blond girl from the doorway.

Piper opened her eyes and nodded, continuing her walk around it, finally coming to the seat and sliding onto the old, hard bench. She looked up at the girl. "Can I play it?" She asked quietly.

Beth nodded furiously, blond curls bouncing and a bright smile appearing on her face. "Yes please! My mother used to play but none of us really ever learned very well."

Piper nodded and stretched her once dexterous fingers out on the ivory keys, smiling that it was still tuned so well. She racked her brain for a moment for something to play as she ran her fingers along the worn keys. Finally she settled on a piano cover she had learned of "Freebird," feeling it was in a funny way appropriate.

Beth smiled and leaned against the piano in front of her. "I heard dad and Rick saying that someone hurt you and that's why you don't talk that much." She said making Piper nod as she played. The blond girl considered her for a moment. "You look fine to me. How did they hurt you?"

Piper looked up and frowned at her. Thank god she had gotten to the crescendo of the first chores so her fingers looked like they were banging on the keys on purpose. This young girl couldn't be more then 17… She had obviously been here when the world went to hell. There was no way she was going to tell her what people were capable of out there. Piper looked back down at her hands flowing across the keys instead, shaking her head.

When Beth seemed to realize that she wasn't going to answer that question she moved on. "Were you a musician?" She asked.

Piper gave a little smile, still looking at her hands as they continued the song. "No…I was a ballet dancer. Music just kind of comes with the territory."

She looked back up at the smiling girl, not noticing that Daryl had returned and was leaning against the chipping door frame behind her. He listened for a moment to the way the blond girl talked before she was quiet to listen. He had been drawn in by the sound of the music after he had left the RV, remembering that Piper had said she missed it. He had expected to find her sitting there curled up on the sofa watching someone play, not actually playing herself. He wished that he had prepared himself to see something like this, than maybe he would be able to do something besides stare at the girl, enveloped in the last rays of the day through the window.

Beth looked up at him but he held a dirty finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet and that he didn't want Piper to know he was listening and watching yet. The girl looked back down at Piper, watching her fingers move.

Daryl chewed on his thumb as he saw her shoulders moving and jerking when she hit the loud parts, tensing and then relaxing in time with the music. She'd been right…even he missed his own cassette tapes in his truck, not that any of the hair bands sounded like this. Her music was sweet, melodic… peaceful. It clung to the air and coated the room with the feeling of intoxicating serenity.

He glanced to his side as Rick and Hershal came up looking at him questioningly. Daryl inclined his head into the room silently as the other two men leaned in and listened for a moment. Piper finished the song strongly, her hands slamming down on the keys.

Rick smiled slightly and let out a slow, ringing applause. Piper spun around to see the three men look at her. Both Hershal and Rick were clapping now, while Daryl just stood there with his arms crossed, looking extremely masculine as his blue eyes burnt into her. She bit her lip and looked back down at the keys.

"Beth said I could use it…" She breathed.

"Piper." Rick smiled at her. "That was amazing."

Hershal nodded quickly as she stood up. "Please!" The older man said quickly. "Keep playing. You can play anytime you want."

Piper looked back up, focusing on the still, hard face of Daryl. For the first time in a long time she couldn't read the expression. His eyes singed her but they weren't angry, weren't lustful…weren't anything. They just stared at her. She felt like she was on display in some kind of freak show.

"I'm good." She said quietly, pulling herself up from the bench. She slipped from the room and past the three men quickly, glancing back as she left the house.

Daryl ran his hands through his hair before leaving the room as well, making his way to the camp site. She had only set up one of the tents…thank god, and all of his things were inside of it. Stripping his dirty shirt off he pulled on a new one and looked around, surprised that she hadn't retreated to the familiar confines.

Stepping out into the night, he glanced over and saw that everyone was sitting in a circle, eating dinner around a small fire. Piper, in all of her tempting, curious glory wasn't with them. Rick had joined them and glanced up at Daryl before nodding over to one of the trees a good distance away from them. He squinted over at it before going over to his saddle bag and taking out his gun shoving it into the back of his pants so that it wouldn't be seen.

Piper watched her legs as she sat on the swing, hung up into the tree by one of the thick branches. She liked it out here and was more than happy that she had seen it on her rampage back from the well. Gripping the thick ropes at her sides, she gently swung herself, hearing the creaking of the old braiding that scratched her hands gently.

Looking up she saw Daryl approaching her cautiously. He leaned up against the tree's, watching her closely from under his eyebrows in silence. She looked over at him before continuing to swing herself, legs extended, shoulder length curls blowing around her in the dark.

He sighed and wished he had a smoke or something to distract himself with. "Didn't know ya could play." He finally muttered, breaking the silence. Piper just shrugged her tiny shoulders, blushing even though he couldn't see it. Daryl licked his lips. "It was real…nice." He muttered, wishing her eyes would lift to him. He didn't know how to deal with her sometimes. She was a hard wild killer one minute and just when he thought of her that way, a glimmer of the girl she used to be pre-attack pushed through his consciousness. Soft-hard; warm-cold; badass-gentle.

He cleared his throat. "Found a little hiddin' place in a closet when I was out taday." He murmured.

Piper stopped swinging and looked at him finally, swaying lightly on the suspended wooden platform. "You think it was from Sophia?"

He nodded and pushed himself off the tree, stepping in front of her. "Probably." He gripped the twine, testing its strength and stopping her movement. "Ya should have kept playin'. I liked it."

Piper looked up at him with questioning eyes. "It didn't look like you liked it…besides, I'm not that girl anymore." Daryl's eyebrows furrowed. "There's no place for a girl like that in this world. I don't want to be some weak little dancer that plays piano."

He sighed and shook his head, leaning down. "Don't say that girl. Ya aint ever gunna be weak. Maybe ya used ta be a little prissy…" He cracked a grin at her as she made a scrunched up face at him. Leaning farther in, he captured her sweet lips in his. He pulled the swing closer so that he could feel her closer to him, wondered if she could sing with those lips too. They definitely were starting to make his blood hum. "Liked hearin' ya play…" He muttered once they broke apart. "Didn't much like seein' ya huggin' on Rick…"

Piper raised an eyebrow and moved her legs so she was swinging lightly again with his hands still holding the ropes. "I thought I the whole point of me healing was I was supposed to be able to be touched by people again."

Daryl grunted. "Yeah, me too." He was confused by his own reaction. He didn't want her to freak out every time she was touched, but a certain possessive part of him wanted to be the only one that was allowed to touch her too. He liked it. It made him feel important and … meaningful.

He had never really cared before this morning. All of the other girls he'd been with had been one night stands that he knew had been tapped by half of town. They were open for business and all the guys knew it. He'd taken them hard and fast in the bed of his truck, not caring if they got anything out of it as long as he got off. Piper wasn't one of those girls and he didn't want her to be touched like one. He literally cringed at the thought.

Piper watched as his face contorted while he thought about something, emotions passing thought his eyes and over his scruffy frowning face. She bit her lip as she searched for a way to get his mind out of whatever hole it was going down. "There was a walker in the well today." She said, drawing his attention.

"Oh yeah? How'd ya'll get it out?" He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he felt her knees brush against his when the swing pivoted back and forth. He gripped ropes tighter at the contact.

Piper frowned. "They lowered Glenn into the well as bait." She muttered bitterly. "But then Lori said it split in half from all of the water bloating anyway."

"Arg." Daryl muttered. That must have been…pleasant. "Well at least they didn't try and lower ya in." She glanced to the side as they said it, glancing away from him. "Piper…they didn't try and lower ya in did they?"

"Shane might have…suggested it." She muttered still not looking at him.

A low growl immerged from Daryl's throat, making her turn to him. "Ima kill that prick." He gritted out. He didn't know what the hell was wrong with that bastard. He just didn't seem to get that if something really did happen to this little girl he would be dead in the next half hour. "Tell me ya didn't push him down there."

Piper grinned a little bit, proud of her restraint. "I thought about it…but I just flicked him off and told him to go screw himself."

Daryl shook his head in aggravation as she yawned. Fucking adorable, he thought to himself. No, she was most definitely not the kind of girl he wanted people touching like a whore. "Come on." He pulled her up from the swing and tugging her back towards the tent. "Yer gunna pass out if ya don't lay that pretty lil' head down."

* * *

Daryl looked at the girl where she slept across his arm, the weight of her head light on his tattooed bicep. Her green eyes were closed and face peaceful looking in the dim first lights of the early morning. At times he'd see her button nose scrunch up in her sleep but other than that there was no movement. He was surprised. When she slept alone he had come in enough times to find her in the throes of a violent night mare, but never when he fell asleep there.

They had stayed up deep into the night, his fingers running over her just like they had all of those nights before they left the quarry. This time though she didn't tense up and he would find his lips touching sensitive spots on her soft skin, remembering what it felt like to be inside her.

When she had kissed him, delicate, small fingers running over his jaw and holding herself close to his warm body, he hadn't known how he was going to ever be able to control himself again. He was still rock hard just thinking about it.

The only thing that got him through the night without rolling on top of her was thinking about carrying her back to the camp, covered in blood, nearly dead.


	22. Chapter 22

**Leyshla Gisel: You're totally right. I was trying to create a feeling of familiarity but I don't think it worked either. Fixed!**

**GatorGirl99: Lol. Progress is definitely in the eye of the beholder in this story.**

**Emberka-2012: Thank you! I'm trying to slip in little bits of what she used to be as she gets better.**

**Caffiend04: Lol! We're getting there! Don't worry! I have a plan!**

**Melanie: Lol Honestly I cant' see not being a little crazy in that kind of world. I know that a lot of people make Daryl be with someone who is totally normal, but I can see him being the kind of guy who's attracted to vicious. And Don't worry…they will be "Getting it on" soon :P**

**GypsyWitchBaby: Lol I don't see either of them even realizing it until someone tells them.**

**Thank you to gypsykl79, JavaNut, jstarr713 and Kit-cat99.**

**So I had the radio onto a country station earlier when my Hubby was driving around with me today (I'm going stir crazy by the way so mail me if you're bored) and that song "Crazy Girl" came on. I could not stop laughing cause all I could think of was this story!**

**Favorite Line (There were a lot in this chapter): **

**_"Which situation? Him tryin ta get an innocent little girl killed or the one where he was screwin' yer wife while ya were supposedly pickin' daisies?_"**

**Chapter 22:**

Daryl stepped out into the morning air, pushing his sweaty hair off his forehead. Spotting Rick over with Lori, he walked over purposefully, intruding on the couple's solitude.

"Need me some of them guns." He told Rick as the other man stood up from where he sat next to his wife.

Rick looked at him hard. "I told Hershal we wouldn't be carrying guns on the property." He reminded the determined red neck.

Daryl shook his head. "And stupid as I think that is, it aint fer carrying. Gunna take Piper out fer some gun training this morning before the search."

Ricks face said that he immediately understood. "Gun training her is definitely a good idea." He thought for a moment about the girls aim with an ax and a knife. If he wanted one person backing him up it had to be the little, vicious girl. "We were gunna take some of the others out for gun training at some point. Shane is a registered instructor-"

Daryl shot him a furious look that immediately told Rick just what he thought about the other man with a gun around his girl. "Told her I'd do it." He said firmly.

Rick nodded quickly, motioning him to follow to the RV. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with Daryl and Piper but he could definitely see the protectiveness coming from both sides. Sometimes Daryl looked at her like a women, gazing over the fire at her but sometimes he looked at her almost like a pet. It was an odd sort of relationship but it seemed to be keeping everyone pretty much safe. He went in and got the gun bag, checking it. "We striped and cleaned all the weapons so they'll need to be reloaded and put back together, than taken apart again before being brought back."

Daryl nodded. "Fine." He muttered. That was actually good. He wanted to teach Piper how to use a gun in its full power, wanted her to know how to use, load, strip and clean them herself.

Rick glanced over at him as he re zipped the black duffle bag. "She seems to being doing better."

Again Daryl nodded. "Be doin' a lot better if yer crazy buddy wasn't tryin' ta shove her down wells wit walkers." He muttered, still pissed off about yesterday.

Rick sighed and glanced out the RV window to where Lori was sitting and Shane was coming out of his tent looking at her. "Don't worry about that Daryl. I've got…control over that situation."

Daryl hauled the bag up over his shoulder. "Which situation?" He muttered angrily. "Him tryin ta get an innocent little girl killed or the one where he was screwin' yer wife while ya were supposedly pickin' daisies?" Rick looked at him in shock, but it wasn't at not knowing what had been happening while he was gone. It was at the fact that Daryl knew. "What? Ya think I'm stupid? Hard to not notice people leavin camp at the same time! Good lord, just fuckin' take care of it! I aint gunna die cause of some jerkin off contest." Daryl muttered before storming out.

Rick frowned and rubbed his head as he looked back out the window, knowing that he meant that he wasn't going to let himself and Piper die because of some dominance battle between Rick and Shane.

* * *

"Like that." Daryl told her, showing her where to put her hands on the shot gun and stepping back. "Gunna kick back a lot more then when ya shot my gun."

Piper nodded her understanding and pointing the gun at the targets that he had set up along the tree line. She aimed, took a deep breath, and exhaled right as she shot just like he had told her to. The shot took out the target and pushed her back. "Ouch!" She exclaimed, rolling her shoulder and glaring at him as he grinned.

She couldn't have weighted more than 115 pounds at the very, very most. He had known the shot would jolt her and thoroughly enjoyed watching it happen. "Reload. Do it again." Piper reloaded the gun, feeling the shot gun shell push against her fingers as she snapped it into place and aimed at the ply wood target again. "Focus." He reminded her as she glanced to her side at him.

At the very last moment she tilted the gun out and shot behind the target, making something fall from the tree.

"Do you just shot a squirrel?!" He looked at her in shock but didn't wait for an answer, stomping forward and into the trees as she lowered the gun with a look of satisfaction on her face. Sure enough he picked up the mangled animal with a growl of aggravation. "God Dammit Piper! That's a waste of good meat!"

"I think you mean 'good shot babe!'." He heard her call to him.

He rolled his eyes, walking back out with the torn up animal. He threw it at her hard as he approached, making her jump back with a quick look of surprise as some of the insides splattered across the grass. "I think yer lyin' ta me." He told her as he continued to storm forward. Piper resisted the urge to raise her gun at the image of a man with bloody hands pounding forward. "No way ya were a dancer wit aim like that!"

Piper sighed and put the gun down on a log near them. "Dancing is all about spatial reasoning, repetitive motion, instinct and…" She stopped, frowning to herself as she repeated the familiar mantra over and over again in her head.

"An' what?" Daryl prodded, watching the look of confusion come over her face.

Piper bit her lip and looked back at the guns before turning her bright green eyes back to him. "And about trusting your partner." She muttered, disheartened, running a hand through her hair which was now damp with sweat from standing out in the sun so long.

She looked over at the camp as Daryl studied her for a moment. She trusted him…what did that make him? She was his women…of that much he was sure. He didn't know for how long; probably as long as it would take her to heal completely. Still he wasn't sure what he was to her. Master? Trainer? Saint? Maybe even man?

Reaching out he pulled her forward with his slightly bloody hands by the shirt. She let him take to hatchet and the knife from around her waist and drop them to the ground before he grabbed her by the back of the neck and gave her a deep long kiss. Her lips parted for him of their own accord when his warm tongue teased her bottom lip. He felt her take a deep breath and grip onto his shirt as it intruded her mouth, tangling with her own and probing the confines of her mouth hastily.

She gasped a quick breath into his mouth and he pulled her tighter against him, knowing that he was getting turned on by her little pleasured moans. Digging his fingers into her hair he left a small trail of the animal blood on the nap of her neck unknowingly. He wanted to hear her whimper his name again, wanted her strong legs wrapped around him.

Daryl broke away from her suddenly, still holding her tight against him, wondering if she could feel what she was doing to him. He could feel her heart hammering in her chest, see the way that it rose and feel. Her hair looked tangled from his fingers digging into it. "I can't wait until ya fucking beg me for it." He muttered down to her, her eyes still closed. He looked down at his hands, still wrapped around her waist. "I got blood on ya." He murmured as non-threateningly as he could.

Piper's bright green eyes snapped open and she looked down at the small stain of blood on her shirt before feeling the warmth of something on the back of her neck. She reached around and dragged her fingers along the trail, coming back with blood on her fingers. She looked at it before glancing back up at him as he watched her curiously.

She was never going to not be afraid, Piper realized. But that didn't mean that she didn't want to be with this _man_ in front of her. It was either dive in or never get in the pool at this point.

"Hey you two." They both pulled apart at the sound of Andrea's voice coming towards them. Daryl instantly went to pack up the guns as she approached, desperate not to be noticed while he was so heated. "We're going to start doing the grid now. We're going to need the guns." She looked over them quickly, noticing the tenseness in both of them before her blue eyes drifted down to Pipers bloody shirt. "Oh Piper…did you actually kill something this time?" She asked sympathetically.

"Just a squirrel." Piper told her quickly. "Shane's ankle is still messed up right?" Andrea nodded as the girl bent down to retrieve her weapons. "I'll go with Rick."

Daryl looked up at her quickly. She knew that he liked to search and hunt alone but that didn't mean that he was happy about her being out in the woods with another man.

* * *

Piper and Rick walked through the shade of the woods together, searching their grid and nailing the colored pieces of cloth to the trees when they were done with an area. Rick glanced over at Piper from time to time, taking in the sure way that she moved. It was almost cat like. When they found an obstruction she would easily climb over it and perch to find higher ground to look from. He could see why a hunter would like her. She was like a wild animal, eyes constantly roaming, body constantly moving.

"I want to tell you Piper…" Rick said slowly. "I'm really proud of you for coming as far as you have in the time that I've known you."

Piper looked over at him with a tilt of her head. As close as Daryl and she were now a day's he wasn't really one to tell her that he was proud. 'Good girl' normally was the extent of his remarks. "Thanks… but I haven't come that far."

Rick shook his head negative. "You really have. You've gone from nearly slitting my throat to saving my life the other day…and hugging me when you came to the farm…no one ever thought that was going to happen. And now you trust me enough to come out here with me after everything."

"You seem like a decent sort of person...trying to help everyone, even if you are spreading yourself a bit thin." Piper stopped walking, tapping the shot gun that she Rick had given on her leg and wincing at the memory. "I'm sorry about the whole knife to the throat thing."

Rick gave her a little smile of comfort. "If I thought someone that I loved was in danger I would have done the same thing." He assured her.

Piper scrunched up her nose. _Loved? _That was a really strong word.

Rick laughed at the face she made as she thought about it. She was a cute little thing, he observed. Even cuter when she made faces. "It's okay Piper. No one is going to tell him anything he doesn't already know."

"It's not like that! At least I don't think it's like that… We just-" She was cut off by Rick lifting his hand and pointing in front of them to a walker staggering towards them. Her eyes caught it quickly before darting around and seeing more movement from the way that they had come. She tapped him on the shoulder and Rick spun around to see the other walker…and then another following it.

"Shit…" Rick muttered.

Piper cocked the gun but then frowned at the hallow sound it made. That didn't sound anything like it had when Daryl had loaded it earlier to show her how or when she had done it after. "Um…Rick? Who preloaded the guns?"

Rick looked over his shoulder at her as the other two walkers got closer. "Just shoot Piper!" He told her, assuming that she was hesitating because of how new she was at handling weapons like this.

Piper reached into her pocket and pulled out some of the new shells, shaking them to find the buck shot empty. She dropped the gun to the forest floor and pulled her knife. "Guns are empty Rick!" She hissed as the two walkers got perilously closer.

Rick frowned and checked his own chamber. "Holy…" He muttered before he felt Piper tap his arm with the hatchet she was holding out to him. He took it and nodded at her over his shoulder.

"Back to basics." Piper muttered before feeling the familiar sting of her survive instincts kicking in and taking complete control of her body. She charged at the first and closest walker.

Rick slammed down on the walker coming at the front of him, hoping that she could hold the first off until he was done with his.

Piper drove her knife into the walkers mouth forcefully, its teeth scrapping at the ivory handle before it fell to the ground, the momentum and gravity pulling the knife from it. She felt a boney hand on her shirt and spun around whirlwind fast, slitting the second walkers across the throat so that it made a gurgling sound and its head tilted back at a less then living angle.

Rick watched as she kicked the walker back, the lulling of its head sending it onto its back before she drove the knife into its head, leaning over it. When it was done, he sat on the ground for a minute, letting her hatchet fall to the ground in front of him. He starred at the girl for a moment when she rose from making several angry stabs into the walkers head. She tilted her head to the side as her neck cracked, feeling kind of satisfied that she had gotten to kill something again. It was…relieving.

Rick licked his lips. "You kill walkers like they're….people." He said experimentally. "Chest, throat and head when the other two don't work."

Piper frowned and walked over, picking up her hatchet from next to him and whipping the blood off of it with her shirt. "They were people." She said slowly, not willing to tell him about her first kill, the one that she was sure he would say was wrong. "Who loaded the guns Rick? Who gave you the ammo?"

Rick rubbed his head with both hands, frustrated and exhausted just from thinking about it. "Shane must have just messed up…hopefully it was just on ours."

Piper scowled hard. "Yeah…must have just slipped his mind." She muttered sarcastically, slipping her knife back into her belt.

* * *

Daryl had just gotten back from his grid search and was looking around eyes catching on the little bit of free buck shot on the ground under the picnic table. He frowned at it, wondering who was wasting their precious ammo.

Looking up he saw Piper storming into camp with fire in her face, jaw firmly set. Rick was chasing after her calling for her to stop and screaming something about a stupid mistake.

"Bull shit Rick!" She screamed as Daryl walked closer to them, now seeing that they both had blood on them from some sort of hand to hand confrontation. "You don't just give out empty clips and shells to two different kinds of guns that are going with the same people!"

"What the hell?" Daryl asked as they finally met in the middle, right before the camp site. Almost everyone was out doing their daily tasks so the only ones there were Lori, Dale, Shane and himself. Andrea and T-dog hadn't returned yet and Carol was off helping in the house."

Piper pushed past him and towards the camp. She slammed the shot gun down in front of Shane with force. "Better luck next time ass hole!" She yelled at him.

Shane's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't known that Piper was going to be going out with Rick, not that it would have eaten at him too much if she didn't come back. He had just assumed that Rick was taking the shot gun as a backup. "What are you talking about girl?"

"The shells were empty! Big coincidence there with Ricks gun missing bullets too!" Piper hissed.

"What the heck happened out there?" Lori asked Rick quietly, looking at the blood all over him and the girl.

Rick glanced at his wife. "Shells were empty in her gun and my clips were too." A fearful look came over his wife's face followed by a sharp look from Daryl from where he heard just within ear shot. "We ran into three walkers…had to take them out by hand."

"Daryl! Get control of your bitch, will you!" Shane hissed, eyes still locked with Piper.

She lunged at him just like Shane knew she would, nearly jumping over the table. Daryl caught her around the waist in mid-air and yanked her back. She didn't fight him nearly as much as he thought she would, seemingly content on just verbally berating Shane, who was now standing and looking at her.

"I don't know who you were trying to kill! Me or your best friend but next time be a _man _and do it to their faces!" She yelled.

Rick pushed Shane back hard as he went to lung back, face red, at Piper. "Shane stop it! Daryl, get her out of here to calm down! I'm sure this was all just a big misunderstanding that WONT happen again." He told them all far more surely than he felt. In between Daryl telling him to get control of things this morning, the fear in Lori's face and Pipers observation it was hard to ignore that he was going to have to be extra careful from now on for other 'mistakes'.

Daryl hauled Piper up, literally carrying the angry girl away with his arms still held around her waist to restrain her. "Damn right it won't…yer gunna be takin care of all yer own guns and ammo from now on." He muttered though he was sure that she was still in too much of a rage to hear him.


	23. Chapter 23

**UnsuspectingHearts****: Thank you! That wildness is just what I'm going for except a little more…uncontained then River. I didn't even think of River until your comment! Love her though…maybe I just love violent girls. **

**Kit-cat99**** Heck yes! I can just See Daryl and Rick sitting back at some points though and being like "Okay lets let her work some of that rage out." **

**Leyshla Gisel****: I know that Shane had to die and everything and while I was watching the show I was like "Damn why are they taking so long to kill him?" But now that he's dead I wonder who Rick is going to fight with….well besides his bitch of a wife. **

**GypsyWitchBaby****: I am the same way with syringes. I am almost 25 and to this day someone needs to hold me down to get shots.**

**Thank you to ****Melissa,****Emberka-2012****, ****GatorGirl99****, ****JavaNut**** and ****jstarr713**** for your comments as well!**

**SMUT ALERT/ SMUT PROMISE- just fyi if you're at work.**

**COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT! Please?**

**Favorite Line: **

**Everything in this chapter. It's what most of you have been waiting for! :P**

_**"He was pretty sure that she could howl at the full moon above them and he would love it at this point."**_

**Chapter 23:**

Daryl walked out into the field where Dale had said he had seen the girl retreat to after the others had finished their dinner. The wild grass had grown tall out here so he wasn't able to spot her, having to follow the small path she had made in the overgrowth.

Finally he stumbled into a patch that had been pushed down to see the beautiful girl, laying back, looking up at the sky. Her dark green eyes shifted over to him for a moment, relaxing when she saw that it was him who had decided to break her solitude.

"Hey." She said softly.

He knew that his voice was just as quiet when he responded with a quiet 'hey' back, lowering his crossbow to the ground. He could see her hatchet not far from her, contracting the white linen dress that she had pulled on after stripping her blood smeared clothing off.

Piper watched as his eyes ran over her, taking in the short dress and her bare feet. "I just wanted to feel like a girl for five minutes again." She told him as he plopped on the ground next to her with a grunt, holding something shinny in his hands.

Daryl gulped and nodded quickly. He hated when she wore skirts or a dress and not because she couldn't fight in it. In fact she could probably move pretty well in them from all of those years of dancing. It was just so damned tormenting to look at her naked skin…the way he could see just a slight amount of cleavage under that weird heart shape on the top… _Naked and cut up,_ he kept replaying the image in his head over and over again.

"Ya look like one." He finally murmured, holding out the two beers for her to take one. Dale had offered them to him after hearing the fight today, saying that he and Piper should just take a normal night and wind down.

Piper looked at the cans and briefly thanked whatever god was still out there screwing them that they weren't bottles. "Do I really need to remind you about what happened last time we drank?" She asked him.

Daryl shook his head and popped his open with a hissing sound before leaning back on his elbow while he took his first sip. "This aint whiskey girl. Aint gunna give me no ideas about taking advantage of ya. No need ta slap me just yet."

She gave a little half-hearted laugh and opened her own, sipping the foam off the top. Daryl glanced over and watched her as she tilted her head back up to the sky, stretching out her long slender neck under the full moon. He closed his eyes and repeated the image of finding her again in his head. "Ya really like it out here don't ya?"

Piper nodded and took another sip of the stale tasting beer. "I never really got much time to be outside before this…definitely not out in the country. Everything just seems so much brighter out here." She put the beer down and leaned back on both her elbows, looking back at him. His chiseled profile looked even sharper in the dim light. She studied his handsome face for a few long minutes while he tried to ignore that she was looking at him.

"I used to go up to the roof after a show or party, just stare up there to relax." She said after a minute. "I should have just come out here."

Daryl snorted as he took another long chug of his beer. "City girl." He muttered. "Ya would have had no idea what ta do wit yerself out here."

Piper grinned at him, as usual not deterred by his attitude. "You could have showed me…just like you're doing now."

He gave a little chuckle as he finished off the beer and crushed the can in between his hand and the soft ground. "And how do ya think we would've met out here? Pretty thing like ya an' me a sweaty mechanic with a pension fer shooting things. Never would have happened." He hurled the can out in front of them and into the tall grass.

"Litterer." She muttered teasingly, rolling onto her stomach in the soft grass to look at him. "I don't know...maybe my car would have broken down and a handsome, dirty, mechanic would have come out to tow it."

"Sounds like a porn." He joked gruffly, laying back all the way in the grass next to her.

They lay in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just absorbing how unlikely it would have been for them to have met each other, much less liked each other. He wondered if he would have thought that she was a stuck up bitch but still starred at her ass. Piper meditated on if he would have given her the attraction for bad boys that he had in their present time line. But it didn't matter now. They were here, out in a field, the breeze blowing through the grass around them and cooling their sunburnt skin, quelling them into a sense of security.

After a few minutes Daryl opened his eyes when he felt her hand reach out and stroke his chest through his shirt. She rested her head there as a strong warm gust whisked through, taking comfort in his body heat. He exhaled slowly, feeling her head move with his chest, before running his fingers through her hair and brining her up to him. Piper leaned over his body, waiting until he pulled her head down to kiss him, tenderly, the fingers of the hand that wasn't gripping her hair running over her jaw and cheek.

She was the one who deepened the kiss this time, nibbling playfully on his bottom lip in a way that made him give a groan and grip her hair tighter, pulling her fully against his chest. Her gentle little tongue curved around his, drawing him into her mouth as they continued the slow, sensual kiss. Daryl had to constantly fight himself to keep it calm. He felt overwhelmed from everything that he wanted, everything that he couldn't have.

Piper smiled against the kiss, his rough facial hair tickling and scratching at her skin. She couldn't help but think about her thoughts earlier that day. Dive in or don't ever expect it to happen. She could live with never letting it happen if someone else had found her in those woods…but not Daryl. She pulled away from the kiss, moving her lips to his neck as he groaned and shifted his head back into the grass.

"Piper…" He groaned as she kissed and licked down his neck. _Bloody and naked…naked and cut up…just naked._ He tried to calm himself but all he could focus on was the naked part of the thought. The touch of her soft curls left no doubt that she was healed as they trailed along his arm and chest. "Don't do this ta me…"

Piper smiled against his skin, momentarily continuing to lick and kiss the salt from his neck, feeling how fast his pulse was pounding. She smiled as she leaned up again, crawling on top of him while he stared at her with hooded blue eyes. She ran her green eyes down his chest before undoing the buttons of his shirt, eyes coming back to his as she pushed the fabric to the side.

He couldn't say no. He knew he should have. She was straddling his hips and was sure to feel the tightening of his pants. Still, all he could do was close his eyes as her fingers trailed along his rough scars, just like they had done before but with less innocence.

"Piper…" He chocked as he felt himself twitch under her, eyes squeezing closed. "Christ!"

Piper bit her lip before taking the hem of her dress and pulling it up and over her head. Daryl's eyes snapped open to stare at her, sitting on top of him in nothing but a pair of white panties. She looked away uncharacteristically shy as his eyes ran over her body, unsure if he'd still want her when he saw the light scars on her stomach, hips and just under her breasts. "This is me begging." She told him.

Daryl let out a long hissing breath. "Thank the lord." He growled, before flipping her over and attaching his lips to her neck. He ran his lips and tongue along her neck as he finished pulling his shirt off, throwing it to the side before he let his lips drift to her collarbones. He wanted to enjoy all of her this time, touch everywhere he could get at.

Piper started as his beard ran down the line of her chest, taking his time but still being intense. Her fingers tangled in her hair as he found one of her perky breasts. His fingers ran over the taunt nipple, watching when she jerked and whimpered as sparks of pleasure flew through her body.

Daryl's eyes drifted to where he could see the outline of something that looked like a human bite mark on the side of her breast. He glanced up at her face, watching him and obviously waiting for him to be disgusted. He shook his head as a million feelings ran over him that he couldn't put a name or a thought to but none of them were remotely close to disgust. Bending down he traced the outline with his tongue, kissing it lightly before taking her nipple into his mouth.

Piper moaned and fisted his hair tighter at the sensation, her hips jetting up. God, this just felt so good! His fingers ran over her legs and sides as she reached out and fumbled with his belt. He angled his hips away so that she could get a better grip and strip it off. She gasped and gripped into the grass as he continued his trek down ward, kissing and running his tongue along ever scar he came across. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sensation, feeling like he was trying to love all of her wounds away.

Daryl smiled up at her, enjoying the shivers that were racking her body, the feel of her skin, the sweet taste of her that he hadn't taken the time to enjoy the first time. He leaned up and pulled the soft cloth away from her skin, taking a moment to stare at her laying in the grass as he undid his own pants, kicking them off quickly. Piper looked so fucking gorgeous laying there, soft light hitting her naked skin. He couldn't even see the scars he had touched moments ago. All he knew was that she was perfect…just like before.

Piper leaned up on her elbows and she watched him undoing his jeans, naked desire flaming in his eyes. His breaths were coming out harshly, wantingly as his eyes stayed locked with hers. Leaning forward over her he kissed her passionately, letting her know exactly what he wanted while he lowered her back down to lay in the grass. His hard body pressed over her and pushed against her, skin against skin in the cooling night air. He felt her tense when she was pinned, but it wasn't as violent as before.

The moan that came from pressing against her center was unavoidable for both of them, her legs clenching at his sides. His fingers gripped into her thighs tightly.

"Daryl…" She whimpered into his ear, making his body jerk with desire and her nails dig into his back. She shivered as he pulled away suddenly. "Don't stop…please."

Daryl shook his head at her, kissing her passionately again, tongue snaking into her mouth and devouring her. "Aint stoppin'. Can't stop." He rolled onto his back and pulled her up on top of him, eyes locking with hers. "Yer in control girl." He murmured, running his hands over her face and across her bottom lip, just as she had when she had first stepped out of the tent. This was what she needed, control and security. He could give her that in this at least…besides he always loved how she looked all top of him, all wild and fierce.

Piper smiled at him and he could swear that no other women had ever looked at him so sweetly before in his entire life. She kissed his hand before slowly sliding herself down on him, whimpering his name and he slammed his head back onto the ground trying his damnedist not to buck his hips up into her tightness. His fingers gripped her hips tightly, finally relaxing once he was buried all the way in her, her hands planted against his chest.

His breathing was hard as he looked up and she started to move against him, drawing herself up and down him, hips moving from side to side. Her eyes locked with his as his fingers gripped her sides, naked desire pulsing through them. He moved his hips with her, gritting his teeth to stop from going too fast but she was taking him in so deep it was hard to resist.

Piper tossed her head back in pleasure as she whimpered his name again, enjoying every sensation that he was sending deep into her. He was pretty sure that she could howl at the full moon above them and he would love it at this point. If she kept up this pace, looking like some sexy little wild girl on top of him, there was no way he was going to last.

"Piper! Ya gotta slow down!" He begged, feeling her clench around him. "Oh fuck!" He hissed as she leaned forward, bracing her hands on either side of his head and giving him full excess to nibble and suck at her breast.

"Daryl…god!" Piper could feel herself standing on the edge, all insecurity forgotten as she reached her breaking point at the feeling of him inside her and sucking at her.

Right before she finished Daryl couldn't stand it anymore. The sound of her whimpering his name drove him insane. He flipped them over so that his body was laying over hers, still attached and began to thrust into her hard, deep, and slow jolting her against the grass. He swallowed her screams of pleasure with his mouth over hers. Her little fingers digging into his hips and the feeling of her tiny body tensing as she came finished him off, milking every ounce of him out while he growled her name into her ear.

He lay shivering with pleasure on her for a few minutes, relishing in the feeling of her hands running shakily along his sides. "Fuck…" He murmured finally, pulling his body up and kissing her tenderly while still connected.

Piper couldn't for the life of her open her eyes. This moment was just too good to leave. Finally she felt Daryl slowly pull out of her and fall on the grass beside her. She turned her head to him and slowly looked to see him starring at her through glazed blue eyes. "Good 'fuck'?" She asked him, finding it hard to make her voice work as her chest continued to rise and fall unevenly.

Daryl nodded quickly, amused by the slight smile of satisfaction mixed with exhaustion on her face. "Reckon it's the best." He leaned forward and kissed her again. Giving a grunt, he reached over and grabbed for his pants.

"Let's just stay here…" Piper let her eyes drift closed. The idea of laying naked in this field forever seemed like a great idea.

Daryl shook his head at her, pulling his pants back on with a slight sound of displeasure. "As much as I'd like that, it ain't safe ta be out here…" He glanced back over at her amazing body, biting his thumb. "Naked. Don't want no other man wanderin' along and seein ya like this." He reached over and grabbed the white dress that had started all of this…well, maybe not started; finished his frustration perhaps.

Piper took the dress and slowly sat up, pulling it over her head. Seconds later she felt herself being pulled up off the ground, cradled in a pair of strong arms. Daryl grinned at her surprise as he leaned his head down and kissed her as he walked them both back to their tent. "Yer all mine."


	24. Chapter 24

**Emberka-2012: I think that he can understand her because of how animalistic she is. He gets that.**

**RoyalWe: What can I say? I love creating bad ass girls!**

**Leyshla Gisel: Dude, I so want Piper to bitch slap the Governor…most of all in the comments because of what he has done to Michonne. Piper would totally wail on him, if Daryl even let her get close enough.**

**Melanie: Lol yeah he's still rough, angry Daryl. Piper just happens to be a little bit more crazy. Kind of puts him in a new light. Honestly I never liked how people thought he was crazy…I probably would have reacted the same way as him in a lot of those situations. Brother as Zombie chow: Anger. Locked in a place about to explode: Anger. I don't think its that unreasonable to want to be let out of an exploding building or not want your brother dead.**

**Cellmate13: Your welcome! As I said before I'm in a cast so I have very little I can do.**

**DestielJunkie: Maybe but Sophia has already met Piper. She was giving her and Morels' daughter dance lessons back at the quarry.**

**Kit-cat99: Yeah Daryl would probably say that and be proud of her.**

**SaraLostInes: Lol its good for other things too *wink wink***

**Thanks for reviewing to: gypsykl79, GypsyWitchBaby, GatorGirl99, gurl3677, JavaNut, booknerdkayla**

**Favorite Line: It's a toss-up today.**

**_"Piper was not happy. Not at all and when Piper wasn't happy…well, people tended to die."_**

**_"You're cuddling Daryl."_**

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Daryl liked touching her when he didn't have to restrain her, his rough fingers running along the swell of her hips as they both lay on their sides facing each other. He let out a little sigh as her fingers played along his chest, neck and arms. They had been at this all night. The moment that he had gotten them back into the tent he had pulled the dress over her head, wanting to feel her skin again.

Piper had nearly laughed at the awkward way he touched her at first, as if he wasn't sure that she wanted him to. He gradually got more comfortable when he realized that she was enjoying it and lay down on his side next to her, one arm propping his head up while the other roamed her skin.

He glanced up at her face as his fingers trailed up her side. "Never stuck around after sex before." He muttered, more to himself then her.

Piper smiled though her eyes were closed, enjoying the sensations on her tired body. "Yeah…I figured you weren't a cuddler." She joked, opening one green eye to him in the dark.

Daryl quirked an eyebrow are her. "Are ya?" He asked.

Piper bit her lip and she ran her hand down his chest. "Like you haven't noticed." She retorted.

Daryl smirked to himself thinking about how he always woke up with her nose buried in his side or arm, striving to get closer to another heartbeat. He gave her side a little squeeze as he thought about it, watching how his hand almost went all the way around it. "Ya can cuddle up ta me, lay on my chest and shit…I just aint gunna return it."

Piper held back her smile as hard as she could, not wanting to tell him that was still cuddling. Let him be a manly man for a moment. She pushed herself closer to him, pressing her naked body to his clothed one and kissed him lightly.

Daryl's hand instantly threaded into her chestnut curls as he kissed her back. He didn't know if it was really lovingly or not but it sure felt that way. His other hand drifted down her legs, rubbing the smooth skin there with his thumb. "Yer so fuckin' smooth." He muttered, knowing that his exhaustion was loosening his lips.

Piper glanced down at her bare legs where his fingers were circling. "Laser hair removal before the end of the world. Best decision I ever made."

Daryl grinned as he threw himself onto his back, using one hand to keep her at his side. "Sometimes I forget ya were such a…girly girl." He muttered, teasing her as much as her curls touching his skin teased him.

"Hey," She yawned. "You try putting on tights everyday with razor burn. It's not fun!"

He felt her leg wrap up and around his hips, mentally scolding himself for thinking about taking another go at her. "Gotta get some sleep Piper. I gotta go out again tomorrow."

Piper sighed, pressing her face into his chest and trying to forget about Rick said in the woods earlier that day. Daryl was a partner…but she couldn't love him because he couldn't love her. He had said so himself: he wasn't a loving kind of man. This was what it was and it was fine that way. Two fucked up people in an even more fucked up world. "Yeah," She finally muttered, feeling her own call to sleep pulling at her eye lids and away from the rather depressing thoughts. "Me too."

Daryl glanced down at the head of chestnut hair on his chest and shook his head. "No, ya aint goin' back out tomorrow. Not after what happened today."

Piper glanced up at him. "It could have happened to anyone Daryl." She whispered against his skin, hoping to calm him into giving her what she wanted with her breath and his name.

"I said yer gunna stay here." He told her forcefully. It hadn't happened to just anyone. It had happened to her and she was his to look after. The last thing either of them needed was for her to get caught up and killed in some pissing match that Shane was forming in his messed up head. Not after everything they had been through. It couldn't end when it was just getting this…good. "Just for a day or two stay put fer me." He squeezed her too him unconsciously.

"You're cuddling Daryl." Piper whispered up to him playfully.

Daryl pursed his lips together but didn't release her. "Shut up." He muttered.

* * *

Piper was not happy. Not at all and when Piper wasn't happy…well, people tended to die. She watched as the other search groups came back while practicing her aim with the knife and hatchet to relieve any annoyance or anxiety she started to feel.

Daryl had been gone longer than the rest. He was on horseback and knew how to handle himself in the woods better than anyone in the camp. He should have been back first. Rick told her not to worry, that he had probably just taken the opportunity to hunt a bit while he was out. But as the day grew later she grew more and more frustrated with the fact that no one seemed to notice or care that one of their prime group members was missing.

She told Rick that she wanted to go find him but he shook his head, reminding her that Daryl had given her very clear instructions that he wanted her here. He must have told Rick before he left for the day.

She looked around, running her fingers through her hair before stepping into her tent and grabbing the first aid kit she had rescued from her house when she had gone back with Glenn. Taking out a little something of everything, she stuffed them into a fake, worn book bag that she had found at target on the same trip. She grabbed two water bottles and pushed them onto the top as well wishing that she had protein bars, trail mix or something.

She was not going to just sit by and wait. It had already been pointed out that she was a hot head so why not just be it and do what she wanted at this point. Daryl would be mad of coarse but as long as she came back he wouldn't hang onto that anger for two long. He couldn't, not when he had spent all night with her wrapped into him.

Slipping out of the tent she prepared to make a run for the woods. Lori and Rick talked quietly, assumedly with Lori agreeing with everything Rick said…yet again. Carl was being looked after by Carol. Shane was trying to ignore Andrea flirting with him in her less than subtle way. Dale sat on top of the RV, keeping watch as the sun beat down on him, facing out in one direction. That just left Glenn… She could sneak by Glenn right? He was probably somewhere with Maggie, head in the clouds anyway.

She slipped around the side of the camper watching to make sure that everyone was still distracted. It was too easy to go wandering off into the field. The only people that ever seemed to really take notice here Daryl and Shane. Shane didn't care if she slipped off and got herself killed so that didn't really matter.

"Piper!" She heard Glenn's voice hiss, making her spin around right before she reached the golden field. He ran up to her, voice low. "What are you doing?" He asked perplexed.

Piper let out a hissing curse at being spotted. "I'm going to find Daryl." She whispered back to him as she looked around to make sure it was just him. "It's been too long. Something is wrong."

"You know you can't go out there alone!" The young man told her shaking his head. "If Daryl gets back here and you're gone he'll blow a fuse!"

Piper sighed and stepped closer to the young man. "Give me three hours Glenn. Just don't say I'm gone for three hours and if I'm not back by then you can tell them all I'm missing." She turned to leave and felt his hand reach out and grab her wrist to stop her. Instinct gripped her and she pulled her knife, holding it to his wrist. "I like you Glenn…don't make me do this."

Glenn looked down at the blade, reflecting in the sun light. He released her slender wrist from his grasp quickly. "This isn't a good idea." He told her desperately.

Piper furrowed her eyebrows. "If it was Maggie out there-"

"But it's not Maggie. It's _Daryl_! He can take care of himself Piper!"

She looked at him sharply. "So can I _Glenn_." She exaggerated his name out of spite to make her point.

He looked at her before glancing back at the camp where they were still going unnoticed. "Three hours Piper." He finally said.

Slipping through the tall grass that she and Daryl had been in before Piper ducked low until she got to the woods. She couldn't help but smirk to herself at how easy it was to run off. She wondered if Carl ever thought about it to get away from his over bearing mother and the constant tension that seemed to radiate off that little family unit.

She had seen the map lain out on the car earlier that day and thought back on what Daryl had told her. He would always go for higher ground. She walked easily through the woods, her tension beginning to ease once she used the tricks she had watched Daryl use to track. He was on a horse so that made it far easier since she was still a novice.

This is what she had wanted that day on the highway, she remembered: the peace of being out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but your thoughts, the feeling on single rays hitting your skin through the leaves. It was tranquil.

It felt like hours that she had been following the horses trail when she finally stopped, looking around before looking back down at the dust and leaves that had been scattered everywhere. She frowned and rubbed her head, turning in a circle to see where the horse had went. Suddenly she heard something echo from her side and turned sharply, her knife raised. She edged to the side of what looked like a ravine and looked down, her heart instantly dropping into her stomach.

At the bottom lay a man in a plaid shirt with a cross bow at his side and the bodies of two walkers. Even from this distance she could see the crimson splatter of blood on the ground. "Shit!" She cursed, looking around herself wildly to find a way to get down to him. Finding no immediate path she gripped into one of straggly tree branches and began to perilously pull herself down the ravine wall.

So much for tranquility.

Daryl woke again to the sound of earth crunching and thought for a moment that there were either more walkers or he was having another hallucination of his ass hole brother. Pulling his heavy eyelids open he saw something small fall down the last few feet of the cliff where he had tumbled numerous times.

He closed his eyes again, blood loose and dehydration from the hot Georgia air weighting heavily on him. When he pulled them open again he saw his girl standing over him, the burning sun shining over her shoulder.

"You should have just let me die." Her voice came.

Daryl licked his lips, trying to process the words and why her lips didn't seem to be moving with them. "Wasn't gunna let you die." He grumbled.

"Better than being stuck out here with some piece of trailer trash like you. What? The world goes to shit and that somehow makes you think you're good enough for me?"

Daryl tilted his head from side to side, feeling nauseous as he did it. "Yer gunna leave me…just a matter of time. But I done right by ya. That's all that counts. First time I have wit a women."

Piper frowned over his body. "Daryl! Can you hear me? Where are you hurt!?" She asked desperately, but he seemed to be having a different conversation with her in slurred fragments. Reaching out from her bag she grabbed one of the water bottles and lifted his head, holding it up to his lips. She only let a few drops escape until he realized he was drinking and then added more to the stream.

She looked around them for a moment, taking in the bloody arrows and the cross bow that lay right near him. "Okay…okay." She muttered to herself, trying to form a plan. She'd never done this before, didn't know what to do. She helped him lean against a log when he seemed more coherent after drinking. She stood up and walked over to the walker with an arrow in its head. "There's a farm house about a mile back." She muttered, knowing that she wasn't going to get very far practically dragging him.

She placed her foot on the walkers head and yanked out the slick arrow. The blood on the arrow was a gooey black but under it lay a film of red. Looked back over at him she saw the make shift bandage he had made out of his shirt. She gulped down the short of fear that ran along her spine. "Can you make it?" He nodded at her and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you understand me?"

"Course." He muttered hoarsely, though he still felt like he was having a hard time holding onto consciousness. He started to painfully pull himself up and she took a step forward. "Don't fuckin' need help." He hissed, half in irritation half in pain.

Piper narrowed her eyes at him but stood there with her hands on her hips, arrow in hand, watching him fall. "You sure about that Rambo?"

He winced but his blue eyes instantly regained some of their clarity at the sight of another walker coming towards them. He straightened up as best he could but his side was killing him, her neck felt like it was twisted and his head was pounding uncontrollably.

Piper shook her head, thinking that they just couldn't catch a break, before pulled her hatchet out and throwing it as hard as she could at the walker.

Daryl slouched again once it hit the ground as Piper went to grab the weapon and his cross bow from the ground. Knowing that he would want it even if he was in no condition to fire it, she helped him sling it over his shoulder painfully. Carefully she slipped under his arm and helped him start what was sure to be an exhausting walk.


	25. Chapter 25

**DestielJunkie: Lol good cause that was the reference I was going for!**

**Melanie: I am glad that you're enjoying it! I'm trying to stick to vintage Daryl because I'm totally in love with that tough, redneck hunter type. All rough around the edges.**

**gurl3677: I don't think he knows what that is!**

**Emberka-2012: It always weirded me out in the show how he was the best in the woods and the one on horse back but no one thought about him not getting back before them.**

**Thank you to jstarr713 GypsyWitchBaby and Kit-cat99 for also reviewing!**

**Favorite Line: _"You die…I'm not far behind."_**

**Chapter Twenty Five:**

Hauling Daryl through the forest was even harder than Piper thought it would be. He made it look so easy when he was carrying her. His body slouched against hers, sticky with sweat. She felt like she was covered in both hers and his by the time they reached the farm house. She let out a long breath when it finally came into view.

"We're almost there Daryl." She told him, knowing that he wouldn't answer. He was too busy trying to hold onto consciousness and gritting his teeth to hold back his pain.

Piper leaned his heavy, paling body against a tree as they got to the old wooden fence. His bulky arm stayed hooked around her for a moment as he let out gasps of air. He was trying hard not to show pain or weakness but knew that it wasn't working as well as he would have liked, his staggering steps giving him away.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut. She would have time to be upset about him getting hurt later. Not right now. Right now she had to return his favor of saving her life. "Daryl," She lifted her face to his pale, hard one, his blue eyes the only thing that looked the same. "I have to go check the perimeter."

He shook his head at her quickly, tightening his arm around her. "I'll go." He winced as he tried to push away from the tree.

"No." She steadied him but he still tried to push forward. "Daryl, look at me…listen." She put her hands to his face. "You die…I'm not far behind. Please." She shifted and pulled the menacing hunting knife he had given her from her belt, slipping it into his hand and pressing his fingers around it. He looked down at her hard, trying to understand what that statement meant.

She pulled away from his dripping arm and turned towards the house, eyeing the walker that was scratching at the door, trying to claw its way in.

"Piper…" She turned back to Daryl who was leaning painfully again. He didn't know if it was just the pain he was in that was messing with his head or the idea that he wasn't going to be able to back her up. "Don't die." He murmured. He watched through squinted eyes as her face softened and she nodded at him.

Piper crept up the stairs, wincing as the old boards squeaked deafeningly loud in the otherwise silent atmosphere. The walker spun around to meet her and lunged. For the first time in her god forsaken life Piper lost her balance, her hatchet falling down to the ground in front of the old wooden steps. She didn't know if it was because of the physical strain of propping up the much larger man or just because she was losing her touch, but she fell backwards down the stairs with the walker on top of her.

Kicking and struggling she reached out, trying to get the weapon that lay just out of her reach. She could feel the breath and air moving around her from the walkers jaws snapping at her neck as she held it back with her knees and one arm. Its rotting skin was so soft that she could feel her limbs stinking farther in then they should.

There was no way in hell she was going out like this! Not ever! She wasn't going to be a victim to get killed out here in the woods again. Most defiantly not with the man that had saved her counting on her. She let out a howl as she tried to push the walker off while simultaneously reaching for her weapon.

Suddenly the walker fell heavily on top of her, its putrid jaws unmoving and an arrow protruding from its head. She let her body go limp for a slip second, taking deep breaths. Letting her head fall into the dirt she looked behind her to see Daryl, leaning against the frail wooden fence, clenching both his crossbow and his side murderously.

She took a deep breath and pushed the walker off of her, taking the steps two at a time to the door. She turned the handle and found it locked, swallowing hard and looking back at Daryl as he fell to the ground against the fence. If it was locked and there was a walker trying to get in she was willing to bet that there was a person in there; a living, breathing person. At the same time she hated people, and she was scared shitless of meeting new unknown strangers.

Squeezing her eyes shut she leaned against the door. "Please. If there is someone in there we need help. We're alive. My… friend is hurt!"

"Piper?" Squeaked a little voice before the door unlocked and opened.

* * *

"We have to go after them!" Glenn protested to the rest of the group.

Shane rubbed the back of his head as he saw Rick considering. "It's going to get dark soon. We're not going to find them out there wandering out there in the woods at night."

"But they went out there looking for Sophia," Andrea protested. She actually was coming to like the little girl. After talking with her in the RV after the CDC explosion it was hard to ignore the wisdom of what the quiet girl said, even if it was a bit hasty sometimes. She was willing to fight and survive, not lay down and wait for it all to be over. "We can't just leave them!"

"No." Shane protested. "She went out there looking for Dixon. Let her stay out there with the rest of the animals for a night. I'm sure she'll bed down with the rest of the dogs."

"Oh come on man-" Glenn started.

"Shane's right about one thing." Rick muttered, glaring at Shane but unwilling to acknowledge his hatred of the girl in front of the rest of the group. "We can't do them any good wandering around in the dark."

"So we're just going to leave them?" Dale asked, perplexed.

Rick shook his head. "Both Piper and Daryl would both say that the best strategy would be to wait until morning. We'll head out and look for them at first light." The group nodded and dissipated but Rick nodded for Shane to say. "I don't know why you don't like her but if you call her a dog or a bitch one more time…there are going to be consequences."

Shane raised an eyebrow at him. "And what consequences will those be Rick?"

The sheriff's deputy seemed to consider. "Next time Daryl and I may not hold her back."

* * *

Daryl groaned, feeling pain everywhere in his battered body. He could feel a draft of air on his chest and arms, opening his eyes to see that his shirt was off and he had new bandages on. He let out a breath as he tried to remember what was going on. Everything was a blur. He had been in and out of consciousness so much since his last fall from the cliff side.

He remembered his brother. He knew that was a hallucination. He remembered Piper's hurtful words about not being good enough for her…he was pretty sure that was all in his head too, though he couldn't say that they weren't pin balling around in his throbbing skull. He remembered parts of the walk to the farm house where he assumed he was now. He wondered if her words about him dying meaning her death too were in his head…followed by seeing her nearly getting devoured alive. His heart clenched thinking about it, a deep pit forming in the bottom of his stomach. He had stumbled over to the fence and painfully loaded the bow, shooting but not staying conscious long enough to know if the bolt had saved her life.

"Girl!" He called out, pulling himself up painfully. He yanked at something he felt pulsing on the back his neck throwing it to the floor. It clattered there with the small box it was attached too. "Piper!"

"Hey, hey." Piper ran into the room at the desperation in his voice. "I'm alright." She watched as he let out a shaky breath, trying to hide it. "I'm right here Daryl. It's okay, lay down." She walked over to the sofa, picking up the shiny thing he had pulled off his neck.

"What the fuck is that? Felt like it was shockin' me." He grunted.

Piper shook her head and sat on the sofa next to him. "It's a portable muscle stimulator that I had in my med kit. I used to get leg cramps all the time." She reached behind him and reattached the thing on the back of his neck. "It looked like you knocked your head pretty bad so this will help with the neck pain." Daryl reached behind him to scratched them off again. "Stop it and I'll bring out the surprise I have for you." She told him, a small smile appearing on her lips.

Daryl growled but looked at her curiously. "Surprise?"

Piper nodded and got up. "Just lay back down stubborn man! When I say you're being reckless you have to know it's true." She walked into the other room when she was satisfied that he had leaned back into the musky sofa. Daryl waited for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on.

A moment later he looked up to see Piper coming back into the room, her hand clasped around… "Sophia." He muttered in shock.

Piper smiled at the shocked look on his face. "Go on." She muttered nudging the little girl over to Daryl.

Daryl kept his eyes locked on the little girl's face, his firm jaw tight like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was dirty, skinny and tired. Some of her cloths were torn but other than that she looked okay. "You have to get better so we can go home." Sophia said with an overwhelming amount of child like determination.

Daryl nodded quickly, moving to sit up.

"First thing tomorrow." Piper said quickly, crossing her arms as she leaned against the door frame. She wasn't willing to risk him passing out in the middle of the woods on the trek back. It was already getting dark. She was a crazy fighter. Not experienced but vicious. She doubted that she could protect him and the little girl in the dark…hell she doubted that he would let her.

Daryl watched as the little girl nuzzled into Piper on the love seat across from him, desperate for human contact after being so scared and alone. Her slender hands ran through Sophia's hair comfortingly while the girl fell asleep with her head in her lap. He had never paid much attention before but she was great with the children, picking up on their needs with the same animal instinct that made her so violent in other parts of their lives.

Her green eyes drifted up to him catching his blue ones and holding them. "I'll keep watch." She said quietly to him, making him frown.

"Come 'ere." His low voice murmured.

Piper gave a little nod and adjusted the girl so that she was laying fully across the love seat, slipping one of the old floral pillows under her head. She stroked Sophia's hair a few more times before she settled. She walked across the room until Daryl reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her down on her knees, his disjointed memories of that walker tackling on her overwhelming his mind.

He gripped her face tightly, shaking her. "Never again! Ya hear me!" He hissed as she looked at him in confusion, her huge green eyes wide. "Runnin' off inta the woods on yer own! It was fuckin' stupid!"

Piper shook her head at him. "I wasn't going to just leave you out there!" She protested. He didn't seem to get it. This wasn't just about him protecting her. If he was in danger he could bet that she was going to be there.

Daryl growled at her, his fingers digging into her hair and scalp. "Ya almost died today Piper! Tell me ya understand that!" He knew she didn't. She was so used to the adrenaline from her fight relax kicking in that she didn't even realize when she was really in danger anymore. He pulled her to him and kissed her fiercely, trying to convey how much he meant it and what the thought of her in danger was doing to him.

"Daryl…" She whispered once he broke apart from her, his strong hands still holding onto her face. She couldn't put it into words how it had felt to see him laying limply at the bottom of that cliff side. The idea of him being dead was heart breaking, murderous! Again Rick's words echoed through her head. She wanted nothing more than to love him at that moment but knew there was no way that he was going to let her.

Daryl looked at her questioningly as she closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, as if she was trying to hold something in. When she opened them again she just shook her head, letting him bring her forehead to his again as if to try and listen to her thoughts.

"I'll keep watch." Was all that she repeated.


	26. Chapter 26

**Lol yes everyone! I saved Sophia! **

**Please continue to comment and let me know what you all think. If you have anything you would like to see happen in between Piper and Daryl please PM me and let me know! I'm always looking for ideas and saving Sophia was a direct result of a review that was given!**

**Kit-cat99**** &****Caffiend04****: I kind of saw that coming in the show but it was Dale that really tore me apart. I was crying the whole time! **

**GatorGirl99**** &****coconutcarter****: Yeah I wanted to show a different kind of that animal instinct when it came to protecting the young.**

**UnsuspectingHearts: Heck yes vicious women are awesome! 3 Thank you! **

**Thank you to ****gypsykl79****,****Leyshla Gisel****, ****x XRoweenaJAugustineX x**** , ****gurl3677****,vexingvixen7 and ****JavaNut**** for also reviewing!**

**Favori****te Line**_**:**_

_**"If you shoot him," She said in a harsh whisper. "I will rip out your heart and eat it."**_

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Daryl walked heavily through the woods, cross bow raised in the early morning light. He could feel his body protesting but knew that they needed to get back to the farm. The house wasn't secure and his wound was starting to sting and burn.

Piper walked a few feet away from him, green eyes darting around erratically as Sophia gripped onto the back of her dirty shirt. He kept glancing over at her as she would cast her eyes to him, not coddling him but being sure he didn't fall or stumble too much. He didn't like this weak feeling but had to admit that her concern and willingness to protect him did something to him stomach and chest.

Piper kept as far away as Daryl as she could as they walked, knowing that if she didn't she would try and support him again. His breathing was labored and short but he wasn't going to back down. Dixon's didn't back down. Suddenly he stopped and held his hand up to the two girl, blue eyes narrowing as he searched the forest for the rustling that he heard. He gestured for them to hide, get behind a tree or something, his heavy limbs making him breathe harder and he tensed on his bow and pointed it around.

Piper pulled Sophia around the trunk of a large tree, hiding her behind it before leaning herself around the side. Daryl glared back at her, willing her to stay hidden. She scrunched up her nose in protest but his eyes burnt fire filled commands at her. She pulled herself with her back against the tree and tilting her head to the side so that she could still respond if she needed to. Sophia's little fingers curled tightly around hers, her little body shaking.

She closed her eyes when she heard the click of a gun, counting to ten in her head so that she didn't charge.

"Daryl?" Came Shane's voice.

Sophia immediately went to run out but Piper held her back, not satisfied that they were safe with the other man. "Stay here." She whispered to the girl before stepping out from their hiding place.

Shane's gun was still pointed on the silent form of Daryl Dixon. She briefly reflected that he did look a bit like a walker, pale, dirty and breathing hard. His big brown eyes darted over as Piper stepped out of the shadows, dark eyes narrowed menacingly, hatchet gripped in her hand, muscles taunt like a wild little demon in the woods.

"If you shoot him," She said in a harsh whisper. "I will rip out your heart and eat it."

Shane's gun immediately swiveled over to her at the threat and Daryl's grip tightened on his cross bow. The three stood in a tensed silence for almost a whole minute before Sophia stepped out from behind the tree, running to Piper and hugging onto her waist. Shane dropped his gun instantly when he saw the little lost girl, his eyes widening.

Daryl let out a breath and lowered his bow as Rick and Glenn came running out of the woods behind Shane, all wearing expressions of stunned relief.

* * *

Piper waited outside the door to the room where Daryl was being patched up. The reunion had been joyous when they had returned with Sophia but by the time they reached the camp Shane and Rick were all but dragging an unconscious Daryl in between them. She could tell that Carol had wanted to hug her but instead she just reached out to pat her hand once and left it at that. The others were all a buzz with questions but she ignored them and followed the men into the old house.

She closed her eyes and waited, leaning against the fading floral wall paper while scratching at her collarbones nervously. Little red marks from it were appearing across her skin but she couldn't stop herself.

If Daryl died there was going to be hell to pay for everyone around her. She could already feel the anger and grief bubbling to the surface of her. All she wanted to do was slice into something; kill everything as she thought about it.

The door finally opened as Hershal and Rick stepped out, talking quietly with each other. Hershal gave her a soft, grandfatherly smile as she looked down at her feet before walking away to wash his hands after cleaning and stitching Daryl up.

Rick sighed and stood in front of her, transparent blue eyes running over her face until she finally looked up at him with big green eyes. They looked like they were a bit damp and watering, like she was trying to hold back tears. "I take it Daryl already yelled at you for sneaking off?" Piper nodded slowly. Rick gave her a sympathetic smile and gripped her shoulder. "He's going to be okay Piper. Go in and see him."

Piper bit her lip and nodded again, gripping his hand on her shoulder before stepping around him and to the door. She took a deep breath before she walked in, seeing Daryl trying to angrily situate himself on the bed, propping his patched body against the pillowed. He had new bandages around his head and stomach, spotted with blood coming from under.

His blue eyes instantly shot up to her when she shut the door quietly behind her. She stood at the door looking at him crossing her arms over her chest protectively. He could see the water building up in her eyes as she looked at him and his chest clenched, heart stopping. He'd never seen her like this. She had never cried when she was hurt or upset, just shut down or flown into a rage.

Piper could feel the tears coming and turned her face away from him, trying to not think about dragging him through the woods or seeing his battered form at the bottom of the cliff. Trying not to think about the fact that Rick might be right.

"Don't." He whispered hoarsely, holding out his hand to her. He knew he meant two things_. Don't Cry. Don't look away from me. _Piper stayed where she was, leaning against the door, looking away. He could see a single tear falling down her cheek, leaving a little glistening trail. He couldn't stand to see her cry. She didn't make a single sound…it was just that one little tear. "Piper. Either get over here or get out." He snapped, not knowing how else to deal with this situation.

To his utter shock she turned around and opened the door, leaving him alone in the room. "PIPER!" He screamed, but she didn't come back. Daryl rubbed his hands over his face, cursing himself and her. Angrily he slammed his fist into the backboard, ignoring the earth shattering pain that it caused to his injuries.

"Piper!" Called out Sophia when she came out of the house, seeing one of the two people that had found her. "Piper wait up!" She stopped when Piper glanced over her shoulder at her and saw that there were tears on her face. "Why are you crying?"

Rick, Lori, Carol and Carl all looked up when they heard the question, starring after the girl. Piper looked away and shook her head as she continued to walk towards the large green field in front of her.

"Piper wait!" Sophia went to chase after her but Carol wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her back as she called out to the women.

Rick pushed himself up and walked back to the house and to the room that Daryl was in. Daryl lay brooding violently out the window where Rick could see that Piper had broken into a run and was disappearing into the field. After a moment all that could be seen of her was the grass moving where she had disappeared.

"What happened?" Rick asked the other man. Daryl just shook his head. "Should I go and get her?" Rick tried again.

Daryl licked his dry lips before gnarling on his thumb. "Don't bother. She's already gone." He muttered.

Rick shook his head and leaned against the wall. "She'll be back Daryl…she's just…" He frowned and stopped. "She's just upset about you being hurt." Daryl frowned but didn't say anything. "I can bring her back here." Rick tried, watching Daryl's eyes still attached to the field. "If you want to tell her anything."

"Don't got nothin' ta say." Daryl told him solidly.

Rick sighed and moved over to look out the window more solidly. "Maybe that you love her?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the man. "None of this got anything ta do with love." He muttered to himself, feeling sick at the words the moment he said them. "People like her and me don't do that shit."

Rick shook his head and glanced back at him, glad that he was injured so he couldn't jump out of the bed and strangle him. "It sure looks like you do."


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay so I think this is possibly one of the best chapters that I have ever written so if you are reading please comment and tell me what you think!**

**Melanie: Lol I am lucky! I'm actually pretty good in the woods. My redneck hubby taught me to hunt and track so yay! I will be a survivor!**

**Emberka-2012****: I dunno….Piper is pretty stubborn! **

**GatorGirl99****: The broken are drawn to each other.**

**ArmedWithMyComputer****: My pleasure! I hate waiting for updates so I try to get them up quick. Being bed ridden helps! **

**Kit-cat99****: Lol I don't think Daryl realizes through his actions that he loves her. **

**BelmontCalyx****: Prepare for more heartbreak but it will end. I promise! **

**Thank you to ****Leyshla Gisel****, ****gurl3677****, ****JavaNut**** and ****GypsyWitchBaby**

**Favorite Line: Oh my god there were so many in this chapter!**

""_**PIPER!" He screamed as loud as he could, turning in a circle around the clearing, praying that she would come slinking out of the grass like a little bob cat.**_

_**Everything was still."**_

Chapter Twenty Seven:

Daryl pushed his way back to camp the next morning, unwilling to stay locked in the room any longer. When Carol had come in to thank him about Sophia he hadn't said a thing about Piper, not wanting to let anything show. She hadn't come back to him that night to check on him or talk. She hadn't curled up at his side like the little space heater he had become accustom to. Carol wisely didn't bring anything about her not returning for dinner or after dark. Daryl might just go running out there injured in the dark to find her. She would come back when she was ready, the older women thought.

He looked around camp for her as he walked, trying to remain as straight as he could. He pushed into their tent, hoping to find the beautiful young women curled up in their blankets. He frowned when he saw them neatly folded and walked over slowly, finally hunching over and putting his hand over his stitches. Bending down he picked up the hunting knife he had given her that had been placed carefully on the top of the faded wool. He could still see where she had tried to scrub off new walker blood and missed some caked into the handle.

"What the hell…" He muttered looking around. She never went anywhere without this weapon, like a new appendage on her perfect body. Squinting his eyes, he saw her bag and stepped over to it, unzipping it slowly and searching through. All of her jeans and t-shirts were gone along with her back pack, hatchet and med kit.

"Son of a bitch!" He roared, grabbing the bag and starting to hurl her things around the tent in anger. He tore their tent apart in a matter of minutes, rage coursing through his veins as his breaths became shorter. He finally dropped himself down on the blankets that he had thrown every which way in the tent, rubbing his hands over his face and breathing hard. "Piper…what did ya do?" He muttered before pushing himself up and out of the ransacked tent.

Ignoring the pitying look that Carol sent in his direction, he head out to the one other place he thought that she might go. He pushed through the long grass, not paying attention to the small path that they had trampled into it days before.

He finally came into the clearing where they had fucked a few nights before. Images of it passed through his head: his hands clenching her waist, the horrid bite mark that some careless man had given her, the way she looked up at him tossed in the grass, her soft lips whispering his name, her head tossed back towards the sky…the way she had looked at him after, all filled with affection. Okay, if he was honest it wasn't really fucking was it?

The small clearing was empty but for the now warm, half drank beer she had never had the time to finish. He kicked it hard, grinding his teeth.

"PIPER!" He screamed as loud as he could, turning in a circle around the clearing, praying that she would come slinking out of the grass like a little bob cat.

Everything was still.

* * *

Piper woke up from her sleep in one of the trees. Reaching around her she untied the pair of jeans she had used to tether herself to the branch for the night. She sighed a slight sound into the morning air and stretched her neck before leaning it back against the tree.

Daryl Dixon couldn't love. She was just a pet to him and that sickened her, made her heart stop beating. She had no ally in that camp besides for him…Rick was nice because she was wicked; an asset in battle. Who wouldn't want a girl bathed in blood fighting on their side? But Daryl was the only one in that camp that really knew the extent of her brutality…the only one that she could trust. When he found out that she was falling for him he would push her away and she would be alone. Better to push away first.

Glancing down she saw a walker snapping up at her, unable to reach her at the height that she had climbed. Daryl had told her: _Higher ground…always higher ground_. She remembered it in his voice in her head while he taught her to hunt.

She squeezed her eyes shut and twisted her neck in protest of the thoughts, banishing the deep southern drawl. Stuffing the jeans back into her bag she stood on the branch. She pulled the hatchet from the tree where she had driven it the night before after returning in secretly to the camp to grab her things, briefly reflecting on how much stronger her upper body had gotten in this brave new world.

Piper slung her bag over her shoulders, still looking at the walker with a sadistic smile playing on her features. "Killing time…" She whispered before jumping from the branch and tackling the walker hatchet first. She drove it into its head as she impacted the body before rolling away, yanking the weapon with her. The momentum plus the hatchets razor edge had killed the walker but she didn't care. She returned to the still body and hacked all of her emotion away into it.

* * *

Daryl stood with Rick, Shane, Andrea, Glenn and Dale.

"I saw her coming into camp last night." Andrea said. "It was really late so I just assumed she was going to bed…"

Rick shook his head, feeling guilty. He knew he should have talked to her yesterday as she was leaving or gone off to find her after he had talked to Daryl. Piper never cried. She was never upset like she had been. But Daryl was the only one who had ever been able to reason with her. Both she and Daryl were smart, capable…he had just assumed that they would work out whatever was going on when she came back. He'd never assumed she wouldn't. "We find one girl in the woods only to lose another."

"She didn't get lost." Shane reminded them. "She ran off."

Andrea shook her head. "She's upset…Piper shouldn't be allowed to be out there upset. We all know how reckless she gets…she was already covered in walker blood when she came back last night."

"How could ya let 'er go back out there knowin' that!?" Daryl yelled. He ran his hands through his hair as he paced. How could _he_ have let her leave?

Dale shook his head. "We need to go find her…break into search parties."

Rick nodded quickly in agreement. "Andrea and Shane, me and Glenn. Dale, keep an eye out in case she's still on the perimeter." He glanced over at Daryl as the other man picked up his bow and checked his arrows. "Daryl…you're still injured."

Daryl grunted a quick, "Don't give a fuck."

"Daryl…" Glenn tried. "We'll bring her back but you're not going to be able to be out there without getting worse. She'd kill us if something happened to you. You know she would."

Daryl glared at him. He knew that she would. He was pretty sure he was starting to realize why too. "Maybe ya didn't hear me chinaman! Don't. Give. A. Fuck." He snarled. "Plus don't matter ta her. She's the one who ran off. Told her never ta do it again!"

"I think we're all forgetting something here." Shane put in, looking around at all of them. "She left. What if she doesn't want to come back?"

"He's right." Andrea murmured, not liking it but seeing what the other man was saying. "This isn't a prison. We can't force her to stay here."

Daryl frowned and looked at them. "Just get her back here. I'll get her ta stay." He told them, half menacing, half resigned as pain shot through him and he finally acknowledged that there was no way he was going to be able to find her in the condition that he was in.

Daryl watched as the others left, laying in the still messy tent. One of the windows faced out towards the woods, giving him a good view. He hated this. Hated that he couldn't go out there and find her. She was his. He didn't know if what Rick had said yesterday was true but he couldn't deny that this stung. If she did…feel the same way, why had she left?

Frustration boiled in him at his own inability to go out. He knew that they wouldn't be able to get her to come back with them. If there was one person besides him that would be able to talk sense into her it was Rick but he doubted that it would work. He needed to be out there. Him!

Glenn and Rick treked through the deep woods. The first sign that they came across was a walker body deep in the woods, at least four miles from where they had started. At least they assumed that it was a walker at some point. It had been hacked to bits, limbs cut off, chest open with its insides spread across the ground.

Rick frowned down at it, thinking about the way that he had seen Piper kill her prey in the past.

"Holy shit." Glenn muttered looking at it. "Do you think that Piper did that."

Rick nodded quickly. "She's hurting…angry. She's taking it out on walkers." He murmured, looking around them. "Keep your gun ready but don't point it at her. We don't want to make her reactive…and whatever you do, don't touch her." He added forcefully.

Glenn nodded. "How are we going to get her back to camp if we can't touch her?"

Rick let out a long breath. "We're going to talk to her." He tried to ignore the doubtful look that Rick gave him as he heard a noise in the brush. He quickly signaled for Glenn to look in the direction it came from. A walker came through the woods, one of its arms torn off and teeth grinding together. It was just one though and Rick took aim at it as the thing turned to them.

Before he could shot a familiar whirling sound came through the air, sending the walker down before it even had a chance to charge at them. Both Glenn and Rick looked to the side to see a dirty but distinct figure come out of the trees. She had a few leaves in her hair and her cloths were covered in walker blood, the black sticky substance sticking to her white tank top and jeans. Her steps were still fluid, balanced, without hesitation. Her eyes locked with them both for a moment as she walked over to the walker.

"Piper." Rick said carefully. "Thank you."

She shrugged as if to say it was no big deal.

"We've been out looking for you all day." Glenn tried, feeling his hands shaking on the gun that he held pointed to the ground. It looked like Piper but at the same time didn't. It looked like what would have happened to Piper if Daryl wasn't there. "Come home with us. It's not safe out here."

Piper smirked as she yanked the weapon out of the walkers head. "No," She said quietly. "It's not safe out here." She whipped the blade off on her pants, leaving another long streak of black blood across the once light jeans.

"We need to start heading back." Rick said as she looked forward, planning her next direction.

Piper shook her head negative. "I'm not coming back guys." She said quietly.

Glenn shook his head. "Please Piper." He tried, stepping forward. Rick held out a hand to stop him but he pushed on his sentence. "Daryl is really worried about you. He threw a fit this morning when he saw you were gone."

Rick watched her face and Piper scrunched up her nose and squinted her eyes at the sound of the mans in thought. "He's just worried about losing his little 'pet'." She said, repeating Shane's words. "He'll be fine."

"Piper…" Rick sighed, knowing where that word had come from. "You're not his pet. He loves you!"

"SHUT UP!" She yelled at them, feeling a tear well in her eyes again as she heard the words that she knew couldn't be true. He had said it himself. He wasn't a loving sort of man. She didn't know if the tears were from sadness or anger. She picked anger…she always picked anger. "Shut up and leave me alone! Don't come looking for me again. I like both of you but next time you come to find me someone will get hurt!"

She bit her lip as Rick tried to talk to her again. He could clearly see the hurt and anger in her eyes. Before he could get anything meaningful out she took off into the woods.

"Damn." Rick muttered.

* * *

Daryl pushed himself up from the chair as he saw Rick and Glenn coming out of the woods late in the afternoon. Everyone was already setting back up for dinner and the sun was setting in the western sky. He was desperate for news. He hated being useless to start with but this was so much worse. Since Andrea and Shane had brought none he hoped that Rick and Glenn would, even if his heart sunk at the sight of them alone.

"Well?" He asked as the two men walked up, looking drained.

"We saw her." Rick told him simply. Daryl looked at him questioningly. "She's alive…more than alive. She's butchering everything she can find. I'm surprised she didn't take our skin."

Daryl gave a slow nod. He knew that she wouldn't come back with them; that he was going to be the only one who could reason with her. No women had ever heard him so completely…well, except for yesterday. He was going to have to be the one who went after her.

Glenn dropped the gun into the bag, giving Daryl a side long look as Rick walked back to his wife and son. "Dude," Glenn muttered. "Why couldn't you just love her?"

"What?" Daryl hissed sharply.

Glenn felt himself sigh and rub the back of his sweat soaked head. "She says that she's just your pet. If you just loved her then maybe she wouldn't have run off." He pushed himself away from the table and walked over to the farm house where Maggie was sitting on the porch swing.

Daryl felt himself caving at the words. _Pet? _ Really? Would he have touched her like that if she was just his _pet_? Would he sleep closer to her then he had done with anyone ever if she was just his _pet_? Would he have freaked out when she was gone or in danger if she was his_ pet_? His own angry thoughts pulled the admission from himself.

He looked to his side to see Sophia walking to the edge of the woods with a plate of food and setting it onto the ground, obviously hoping that Piper was there to take it for supper.

"SHIT!" He yelled, slamming his hands into the table.


	28. Chapter 28

**Thank you to ****RoyalWe****, ****Sunnymuffins****, ****Melanie, ****Emberka-2012****, ****ArmedWithMyComputer****, ****gurl3677****, ****JavaNut****, ****x XRoweenaJAugustineX x****, ****BelmontCalyx**** and ****GypsyWitchBaby****.**

**LoyalAsAViking**** : Lol I wrote that and knew that I had to put it in there somewhere cause its just so beautiful. **

**Jenn: I loved that line too! So awesome! **

**GatorGirl99****: Lol No ghost writers, just a leg cast. I'm a baker/ cook so I cant really work with it. So I sit here and have nothing to do **

**Leyshla Gisel****: Yeah I think it just really hurt her to know that she was falling for him and he didn't even want her to help him or be there. **

**Kit-cat99****: Lol I don't think reverse psychology will help all that much when she stabs you. Very Piper.**

_**Favorite Line: **__**Good lord, this really was like hunting a wild animal. He was surprised at how much of a turn on it was.**_

**Chapter Twenty Eight: **

Daryl pushed through the woods once he was as healed as he could wait to be. No one had said he could go. In fact, Hershal had straight up told him to wait for another few days. It had already been three since she had disappeared. Every night without her was turning out to be more and more torturous. He didn't know if it was the fact that she could be dead or just the fact that the tent smelled like her.

All he really knew for sure that that every day she was out there was one day closer to dying. Piper was fast, fearless and animalistic. But that right there was the problem. She was wild. The concept of pacing herself hadn't sunk into her since her attack. He could see it in her. Muscles always taunt and ready, nerves always on edge…she'd burn out. In fact the only time he didn't see her like that was when she was laying next to him at night.

After his admission to himself the other night he couldn't stop himself. He was completely mortified that he felt like he needed her there and maybe even loved her. He needed to look at her wild face again to be totally sure. He couldn't let her get far so he had just left. He doubted that she would go too far though. He had seen the way that she looked to the woods around the farm. It was like they were holding a promise there for her.

"Daryl!" Rick yelled, following him through the field. "You can't go out there! You're not healed!"

"Healed as I'm ever gunna get!" Daryl called back without stopping his purposeful strides.

"Daryl!"

He ignored the calls for him to stop and think. He couldn't stop. Couldn't think. He wanted her there. Needed her there. Needed to at least know that she was still alive. He'd figure out the rest later. Action now. Questions later.

He moved through the woods like he always did, like he was born there, steps even and sure. He tracked her through his normal means at first, broken sticks, stepped on leafs and grass. It didn't take him long to realize that Rick had not been kidding in the slightest. That's when he started tracking her even more easily through the corpses.

He gritted his teeth as he thought about the first few weeks he had known her…silent and fearful, tracking the man that had almost killed her. But these were walker bodies so he didn't worry. In fact he found that he was a little bit proud. From the looks of it she was not dead yet.

He stopped his steps suddenly and moved behind a tree trunk, glancing to his side to see the figure he had been looking for across a shallow creek. He let out a deep breath as he saw her, trying to be as silent as possible. It was like tracking a deer, he thought to himself with a smirk.

She was sitting by a stream, her hands scrubbing at each other as she tried to wash the dirt, grim and blood from them.

Piper put her head in her hand as she squatted to the ground, trying not to think. She had learned in the past few days that if she kept moving around it didn't hurt to think. She'd done this before; lost herself in movement.

It was the nights that were the hard part. She would climb into one of the high branches of the trees so that she was sure no walkers would sneak up on her and close her eyes. She would try not to feel pangs from missing some of the other camp members that she might have once counted as friends. She would try not to miss Daryl or wonder if he liked it better without her in the tent hogging all the blankets; if he was happy that he didn't have someone burying herself in his chest and side.

She pushed the thoughts to the side, not wanting to deal with the aching pain that came with them and splashed the cold creek water on her face.

"Piper."

Her eyes jetted up to where she could see the hunter standing on the bank across from her. His eyes were fixed on her, hand gripping the bow he always held tight. She stood slowly up and he watched the cat like twitch in her muscles as she did it.

"I told them if you all came looking for me again someone was going to get hurt." She said perilously slowly.

Daryl shook his head. "Yer not gunna hurt me Piper." He told her as he watched her pick up her back pack and weapon. Her eyes darted to the side and he knew the movement distinctly. Good lord, this really was like hunting a wild animal. He was surprised at how much of a turn on it was. "Don't. Run."

She looked at him for a long moment, green eyes clashing with blue before she sprung into movement.

"FUCK!" Daryl pushed himself through the shallow stream and took off after her, ignoring the pain in his side. She had gotten faster then she originally was, the athlete in her turning into a more conditioned version of herself. She jumped over rocks and logs easily, making it harder for Daryl's still injured, lumbering steps to catch up to her.

When he did Daryl grabbed her wrist before she could make a run for it again, forcing the blood soaked weapon out of her hand. She struggled against him and he had to drop his bow to grab her other arm so that she couldn't get away.

"Stop it girl!" He yelled, trying hard not to hurt her as she pulled and pushed against him forcefully, her little body jerking with the intensity that she was throwing herself around with.

"Let me go Daryl! Just fucking let me go!" She pushed at him hard, feeling emotions of sadness and desperation creeping over her. She couldn't do this…she needed to be away from him. It was so wrong to love a man that didn't love you back…couldn't love you back. She tried to keep as much distance in between his and her body as she could but he kept yanking her back.

"Piper!" He yelled at her, voice bellowing and breaking as he tried to get through to her. "Fuck just stop and listen ta me!" But she wasn't stopping and he realized that she wasn't looking at him. "Jesus! Just let me talk ta ya fer a second!"

"I don't want to talk to you!" She tried to yank her slender wrists out of his hold now but he moved them to her arms so there was no way.

Daryl knew this wasn't going to stop. The moment that he released his grip she would run and he would never see her again. The thought of never seeing her again was literally nauseating at this point. "I fucking love ya okay!" He bellowed, making her freeze and look at him. He wanted the look she gave him to be soft, like when she lay next to him, but all he saw was anger.

"Lair!" She yelled at him, finally getting away from his grasp. She staggered backwards and ran into one of the large tree trunks.

Daryl gritted his teeth and lightning fast grabbed her head and pulled her into a deep, passionate, heat filled kiss. The intensity of it was almost angry in itself as he ground his mouth against hers, teeth scrapping against hers and tongue fighting its way into her mouth. "Is that a fuckin' lie!?" He yelled at her before grabbed her hips and pulling them against his, instantly feeling the magnetic connection of their touch and knowing that she did too. "Is this a fuckin' lie!?"

Piper turned her head away to hide the tears in her eyes but his large hand forced the tender skin of her cheek back to look at him for the first time since she had run from him. "Daryl stop it!"

Daryl looked down at her fierce green eyes, locking in her attention. "Is that why ya left? Cause ya love me?"

Piper let out a little breath. "You said yourself…you're not the loving sort. You wouldn't let me help you! You didn't want me there!" She couldn't directly answer that question while looking up at him.

He frowned, squinting his eyes as he thought about it. "But I aint willin' ta live without ya Piper."

She shook her head, knowing that the tears were going to come at the next words that she said. "I'm falling for you…and I'm not going to be with someone who can't love me back."

Daryl licked his lips slowly as he thought about the hurtful painful words. "I…" He started then stopped awkwardly. "Just…Piper." His mind was everywhere. He didn't know how to do this. He didn't know how to love someone and now this girl that was amazing, sexy, funny, bat shit crazy and perfect for him was looking up at him with those big green eyes. How was he supposed to handle that?

Piper looked up at him sadly. "I'm not going to force you into pretending that you love me Daryl…I'm not asking you to. Please. Just let me go."

He let out a shaky breath as he studied her face and watched the few silent tears slide down her cheeks. He had never seen or heard anything so damn fucked up in his life…the fact that he had done this to her was horrible. Bringing his hands up, he pushed the tears away from her cheeks with his thumbs, watching as her eyes fluttered closed. Bending down he touched his lips to hers far more gently then he had a few minutes ago.

Piper felt herself giving in the moment his thumbs ran across her cheek, her hands coming up to his forearms to balance herself. It wasn't even that deep of a kiss but then again it didn't really need to be, it was just to show her some of the emotion he was feeling at that moment since he couldn't say it.

Tilting his lips away Daryl leaned his forehead down on hers, his eyes wide open as he watched her closed ones. "I love ya." He whispered to her, not knowing how loud he could actually say the words. It felt like a giant secret even though he was pretty sure everyone already knew except for them. "An' I aint lettin' ya go."

Piper opened her eyes to look straight into his. "Are you just saying that to get me to come back?" She asked quietly.

He quickly shook his head. "I don't know how ta do this." He warned her.

Piper bit her lip and nodded. "You just do what you were doing before but…better."

He scoffed a half laugh before kissing her again, this time letting it be long and deep. He felt her hands grip his strong forearms as he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He swallowed hard as he broke away from her and let his hands slide down from her shoulders to her sides and finally her waist. Her hands left his arms and moved to his strong, sweating chest. She could feel his heart pounding through the thin material of his shirt. She unbuttoned it slowly, his eyes following her hands as she opened it and put her hand over the bandage on his side.

She winced as she looked at it and he growled. "It's fine."

Piper looked up at him. "See there's one thing right now…you have to let me be upset when you get hurt." Daryl gave a slow considering nod. "And you have to understand that I'm going to risk myself for you just like you would for me."

Daryl shook his head this time. "Cant let that happen girl." Piper shook her head and tried to push him a little away but he wouldn't let her, planting his hands on the side of the tree around her so that she was boxed in. "Stop it…" He murmured huskily to her. She shook her head negative and he sighed, bringing his body even closer to hers. "I need ya against me. Don't leave."

Piper looked up at him, giving him the opportunity to take her lips in his again. He kissed her with the need he had just confessed before using one of his hands to run under her shirt. He pulled it over her head, breaking away for just a moment before connecting back to her, groaning as the skin from his exposed chest came into contact with hers.

Piper gasped at the contact, loving the feel of his hard chest pressing into her. She briefly took a moment to reflect that this was what she had been so scared of a few months ago…and that she wasn't anymore. At least not with Daryl.

She fingered his leather belt and undid the clasp as he looked down at her. "Not sure ya want ta do this right now girl. Still pretty pissed at ya fer runnin'."

Piper glanced up at him again with a small smirk playing on her lips. Daryl looked at her closely, taking in the twitch of her lips and the wild look in her eyes. Predator. "You'll get over it." She whispered up to him.

Daryl nodded quickly and grabbed her by the front of her jeans, barely undoing them before yanking them down her legs. He unhooked his own button as her arms came around his neck to kiss him heatedly again.

Piper kicked the jeans away from her feet just before she felt herself being lifted, her back leaned against the tree and legs wrapped around his waist as his own pants fell around his ankles. He tore his face away from hers and began to place warm nips down her neck, his facial hair tickling and reddening the skin there. She gasped at the fell of his cock rubbing against her, warming her insides and making her blood churn all over her body.

"Daryl Please!" She pleaded.

He didn't need to be told twice, gripping himself and pushing into her quickly with a grunt of satisfaction as she whimpered. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to go slower and not let his body get the better of him. It was too hard though. She was warm and unbelievably tight, her strong legs clenched around him mercilessly and he couldn't help but keep hitting her hard and fast. Giving up he poured everything he had into the thrusts, all the anger from the past few days, all of the frustration of finally coming to terms with the fact that he loved her, his utter inability to stop.

Piper cried out in pleasure at the forcefully strikes, her eyes closing after she noticed the strong tensed muscles of his arm against the tree next to her. She could feel his heavy breathing and the animalistic grunts and groans of pleasure in her neck as he ran his lips and tongue everywhere he could get at on her body.

"God Daryl!" He finally heard her pant as all of her limber muscles contracted around him.

Daryl groaned and pumped into her harder and as fast as he could knowing that her cumming would draw him over the edge. "Fuck girl! Not yet!" He panted, but it was too late and he froze against her while he finished, breathing hard into her skin.

Piper squeezed her eyes closed as his affectionate kisses to her neck and shoulder made her shiver with after shocks.

Finally he felt the strength to move again and shifted out of her, amused when he looked up to see her disappointment from him leaving her body so soon. "Wanted ta stay in there longer." He murmured before kissing her again. "Ya know at some point I do wanna get ya under me."

Piper let out a little breathy laugh, surprised that she could still make noise after screaming his name so loud. "Maybe tonight. If you still love me." She joked, making him groan. Slipping off him she went over to the pack that had been hurled on the ground to find a new shirt.

Daryl reached down and pulled his pants and belt back up, glancing over to see her naked back covered with scratches from the bark…one or two of them bleeding a bit. He winced. Yeah, she was a preditor…but he was still a bit higher on the food chain apparently.

He walked over to her, buttoning up his shirt as he stepped behind her and kissed her neck gently. "That mean yer gunna come back with me?" To his satisfaction she nodded quickly. "I do…." He murmured in her ear slowly, knowing that she would know that he meant he loved her, before burying his face in her hair.


	29. Chapter 29

**SaraLostInes: Thank you!**

**Melissa: Mahaha Doubt it.**

**GatorGirl99: Lol all good! I have been working in a kitchen for the past three and a half years and the longest break I have ever had was 6 days to get married so I'm kind of over due for a vacation. Even if it is one hooped up on pain killers.**

**Thank you to vexingvixen7, Leyshla Gisel, BelmontCalyx, Kit-cat99, Melanie, x XRoweenaJAugustineX x, Emberka-2012, gurl3677, Caffiend04, JavaNut, ArmedWithMyComputer and GypsyWitchBaby**

**Again guys let me know if there is anything that you would like to see in this story. I love putting peoples ideas in here!**

_**Favorite line: "Fuck…I'm cuddlin'."**_

**Chapter 29:**

It briefly occurred to Piper that she should have just gotten Daryl to stay with her in the forest. They could be happy out there, just the two of them killing things instead of listening to the frenzy when they returned to the farm. Some people cried out in happiness, some yelled at her about how stupid she was, some just stared at the way that Daryl kept a firm grip on her hand, as if he was afraid she was going to run away.

"What were you thinking!" Shane screamed at her as Daryl stepped in front of her, gritting his teeth. "You had everyone out there trying to find you!"

Rick tried to push him off. "Shane stop it!" He yelled at the other person.

"I never told you guys to come after me! In fact I'm pretty sure I told Rick and Glenn down right not to!" Piper hissed back at him.

Shane went to slam towards her but Rick held him back again. "I said back off Shane! All that matters is that everyone is safe!"

Shane was still staring at her, ignoring Rick completely. "What you can't handle things with your fuck buddy so the rest of us-"

Daryl had enough, pushing past Rick he slammed his fist directly into Shane's face, probably breaking his nose more. Shane fell straight on his back with the rest of the camp watching in stunned silence now. "She aint my fuck buddy ass hole!" He snarled at him as Rick pushed him away from Shane. That was his women! Not his fuck buddy! He fucking _Loved _her! He'd never said that to a women before or felt it. He wasn't going to let someone talk to her like one of the whores that Merle used to bring home. "Ya best not say shit like that bout her while I'm 'round again!"

Piper didn't respond to Shane, her eyes locking with Sophia who looked like she was about to cry. Her little shoulders were shaking and for the first time Piper felt the sharp sting of guilt. She stepped over Shane easily, sure to push one foot into his chest as she walk, and went over to the little girl who instantly latched onto her waist crying. "It's okay Sophia. I'm right here." She hugged the little girl back and rubbed her arms, feeling how tight the girl clung to her neck.

The rest of the camp watched in silence, taking in the way the little girl clung to the bloody women. Daryl still paced in the background, rubbing his lips as he watched her with the little girl.

Piper pressed her cheek into the top of Sophia's head and looked over at Daryl, making him stop his pacing. He looked at them longingly, trying to keep his face stony but failing miserably, as if he was seeing something that he had never experienced before.

Piper closed her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered into the little girl's hair as guilt continued to wash over her for both what she had done to this girl and what she had done to the man that watched her so closely.

* * *

Piper slipped through the flap of the tent, seeing Daryl laying on his back in the blankets, pocking holes in the mesh of the tents window with one of his arrows. He glanced up at her as she looked down at the new bandages on him, biting her lip in that cute way she did.

She had spent the rest of the night with Sophia clinging onto her, unable to separate the girl, while Hershal insisted on checking on Daryl's wounds after running around in the woods all day. Daryl remembered Piper teaching the little girls dance moves back at the first camp, the way that she had saved her from the walkers during the massacre. Finding her in the house must have cemented the attachment.

"Hey." He told her, putting an arm behind his head.

Piper nodded and glanced down before looking back up at his curious face. Daryl wasn't wonderful at showing things but she had clearly seen the utter upset look on Sophia's face, broadcasting her worry and fear about Piper disappearing. If the little girl had been that worried…well, Daryl probably didn't know how to handle that as well as the little girl did. The guilt she suddenly felt from someone actually reacting was unbelievably heavy.

Daryl pressed his lips together and gave her a little considering look. He nodded to the water bottle in her hand. "That for me?" He asked. Piper nodded and walked over to him, handing it down. Daryl reached up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down onto her knees next to where he lay.

"Stay in here." He murmured. He couldn't admit it but after those days away he didn't want her out of his sight. Some part of him was afraid that she would take off again. He knew better than anyone that if a wild animal wanted out of a cage, you couldn't keep it in.

Piper nodded and slid down next to him. He reached out and pulled her legs over his as she reclined back on her arms. They both sat in a comfortable silence for a few long minutes. It reminded Daryl slight of when she wasn't talking. His fingers ran up and down her legs idly, watching his rough skin against her soft flesh.

Finally Piper looked over his face as he watched the evening sun play on the top of the tent. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. Daryl's eyes shot to her but he didn't say anything. "You must have been freaking out."

He licked his lips. Yeah, he had been freaking out…worried beyond belief and he knew that it had come out as rage. He cleared his throat before he spoke, breaking his own silence. "Did ya at least have fun out there?" He tried to ease the tension he felt rolling off both of them.

Piper smiled slightly and leaned up. "I wouldn't say fun…relaxed maybe. I'm just really good at it." He nodded quickly. He had followed the trail of mangled bodies to find her.

He had no doubt that she was turning into an expert killer and that he had been the one to turn her onto it. He wondered if that healing had maybe drove her a little bit more insane than she would have been. All the same it wasn't like she was killing real people…so he didn't mind too much. In fact having such a terrifying predator in his bed was kind of hot.

"Just…" He squinted his eyes as he thought about what he could say. "Don't leave again alright?" She glanced at him and slowly nodded when he squeezed her leg for an answer. He pushed himself up on his elbows to look at her better. "I'm gunna fuck up again ya know. Told ya I don't know how ta do this." His fingers laced through her hair, distracting himself with the soft curls.

She could see the fear in his face, the way that everyone else would just confuse with anger because they were so alike. His jaw was tight, creating hard line along his face and his eyes were squinted, looking everywhere but at her. "I wont run." She promised him. "Daryl…when we were out there I never said it but I love you too." Her voice sounded nervous even though he was the one that had said it first. He sighed and shook his head, still playing with her curls. "And its not because you saved me. I mean you definetly get brownie points for that," He cracked a little half smile at this. "But its just because you're you. So yeah. I love you too Daryl."

Daryl looked up at her finally and captured her eyes before leaning in and kissing her. He felt like he couldn't detach from her. He knew that he should have made love to her when he found her in the forest after telling her that he loved her, not fucked her into a tree. But the confession had been so violent in itself that he couldn't stop himself. This kiss wouldn't make up for that but it sure felt better. HIs tongue snaked around hers and pulled it into his mouth before releasing and nipping at her bottom lip.

He didn't think that anyone had ever said that to him before in his life. Maybe his mama had but he had been too young to remember. The way that Piper said it was so soft, so sweet, his heart started pounding a mile a minute.

Finally it was Piper that had to break off from the deep kiss, tilting her forehead to lean against his, licking her lower lip which he had been nibbling on. She always forgot to breathe when he kissed her.

Daryl kept his fingers in her hair. "Good. I love ya right now but if ya make me worry like that again, might hate ya a bit too." His lips twitched up into an almost smile as he said it and she laughed, making him full on smile. "Yer really good with them kids." He murmured, guiding her to lay down beside him.

Piper nodded. "I like Sophia. She kind of reminds me of myself when I was a kid. All lanky and shit." She smiled to herself as she felt him slip an arm under her head as a pillow. He lay on his back while she lay on her side facing him, glad that he was actually taking the advice Hershal gave him and taking it easy. She was pretty sure that it was part of the reason he had asked her to stay. "If the world was still…normal she could have been a dancer."

Daryl turned his head to her and considered her pretty little heart shaped face as her eyes closed next to him. She must be tired. He doubted either of them had gotten much sleep over the past few days. "Would've liked ta see ya dance." He murmured.

Piper smiled to herself at the thought of Daryl Dixon at a ballet, dressed up and clean. That was just the most crazy image in the entire world…funnier than the thought of her turning from pretty dancer to vicious killer that was for sure. "You would have thought it was stupid." She told him.

He frowned as she rolled onto her back and a bit farther away from him. "Nah, don't think so darlin'." She looked over at him questioningly. "Seen that tight little body move through the woods in jeans and a t-shirt. Wouldn't mind seein' it half naked twistin around."

Piper laughed and shook her head. "I hope you know if anyone else ever said anything even remotely like that to me now I would chop their heads off."

Daryl pulled her back closer to him so he could feel her entire body against his side, surprised at his need for physical closeness after the aftershock of nearly losing her completely. "Anyone else said that ta ya I'd kill em myself."

* * *

Daryl woke up in the middle of the night to the soft moans against his chest. They must have fallen asleep sometime during their conversation. Shifting as little as he could he looked down at the girl resting against his uninjured side.

Sometime during the night his arms had wrapped around her, one resting across himself then over her waist and the other around her head with his bicep as a pillow. Their legs threaded together, tangled at the ankles. Her head was on his chest, soft breaths warming the skin from his half open shirt. Letting out a breath he squeezed her tighter to him, if that was even possible. He loved this. He didn't know why and he knew that he should probably hate it but he was completely unwilling to move an inch.

He smiled a little to himself as she whispered his name in her sleep, having to settle his body so that he didn't react to the slight sweet sound. His name had never sounded so…loved.

He starred up at the ceiling of the tent, fingers stroking her waist as she slept against him, her little hips moving slightly to get closer to the pleasurable touch. He loved it. "Fuck…I'm cuddlin'." He groaned to himself.


	30. Chapter 30

**vexingvixen7****: Meeee too. Actually I'd pay to **_**feel **_**that! **

**gurl3677****: Totally. I think she needs to know that he doesn't know how to do this. **

**Emberka-2012****: I've been dreaming about it!**

**JavaNut****: I could see him just rolling his eyes back and saying that with such frustration! **

**BelmontCalyx****: Lol! No way! I don't see that happening any time soon. Piper is crazy and Daryl is….Daryl. **

**Kit-cat99****: Yeah I think it would be kind of hard for her to gauge because Daryl is trying to hold it back. She knows that he cares now but I don't think that she realized how much it meant to other members and that even if she doesn't notice it she's making an impact on their lives. **

**Leyshla Gisel****: Lol he's a cutie. He just doesn't realize it and would cut you for saying it! **

**GatorGirl99****: Lol I'm loving my painkiller induced Vaca but it's really hard cooking with a cast. **

**Thank you for reviewing to ****jstarr713****, ****GypsyWitchBaby**** as well!**

**Favorite Line: **_**"Right now…I'm gunna make up fer what he did ta ya." He rubbed his facial hair against her cheek. "But ya gotta bear with me girl. Aint never made love before."**_

**Chapter Thirty:**

Piper woke to the feel of something warm scratching her neck and instantly tensed, body going ridged. Her hand flew to her neck but was stayed easily before she could make contact with anything in the warm morning air. Her arm fought it and resisted the force that was being used to push it to the ground.

"Sush…" She heard a familiar, deep voice murmur. "Just me."

She let out a little breath and released the tension on her arm, letting the strong hand push it against the tent floor. His rough fingers whined through hers, giving them a gentle squeeze. Slightly chapped warm lips continued to caress her neck before Daryl lifted his head to look at her. "Mornin'." He murmured down to her, his blue gaze running over her face and neck.

Piper smiled up at him and let the hand that wasn't being held down under his run over his face. "Good morning back." She whispered, her voice still laced with sleep. "What are you doing up there?"

"Woke up ta ya whimperin my name." He said with a smirk. "Got me ta thinkin' ya said when we got back I could get ya under me." He was pleased at the relaxed form her body had taken, even when he slid his leg in between her to push them apart so he could lay in between them. He kissed her slowly, still making sure she wouldn't tense while sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. The moment he felt his hips press against hers, effectively holding her down though, he felt her hand grip his firmly.

Pulling his lips away from hers he looked down at her eyes, squeezed closed. For a moment he was utterly confused. It wasn't like they hadn't had sex before, hell, he was pretty sure that the last time she had even felt a bit of pain as the bark bit into her back. But this was different. This is how he had found her and he instantly knew.

"Hey…" He murmured making her open her eyes. "I aint him right?" She quickly shook her head negative. "Been a while since ya said it. Let me hear it."

Piper looked up at him and nodded. "I killed him." She whispered, body instantly relaxing under him again. This was Daryl…she couldn't think of it as holding her down with him. The phrase and mind set just needed to be switched from forceful compliance to being close.

Daryl nodded and kissed her lightly as her hands came to his sides. "Right now…I'm gunna make up fer what he did ta ya." He rubbed his facial hair against her cheek. "But ya gotta bear with me girl. Aint never made love before." He felt awkward just saying it.

To his surprised Piper laughed. "Are you kidding Daryl? Those first two times were definitely making love."

Daryl raised an eyebrow at her unable to control the slight twist in his hips from being so close to her beautiful, warm body. "Ya making fun of me Piper?"

"No!" She gasped quickly but she was smiling abnormally large. She brought her arms up and around his neck, weaving through the downy hair on the back of his neck. "No, I just don't think you're nearly as much of an ass hole as you think you are." She bit her lip as he moved slightly against her, enjoying watching her expression change.

"Piper!"

Daryl growled in the back of his throat and buried his head in Pipers shoulder at the sound of Sophia calling out her name. He was about to yell for the little girl to go away but Piper covered his mouth with one hand as his head came up.

"I told her I'd play with her and Carl today…" She told him apologetically. "Carol said she was really freaked about me leaving."

Daryl sighed and rolled off of her, rubbing his face in sexual frustration. Hearing her whimper his name in her sleep had been one of the biggest turn-on's in his life. He really wanted her under him but he knew how much the little girl meant to her. He couldn't make love to her or whatever if he was holding her there. He wanted her full attention. It would have to wait. Turning his head he watched her pulling on her jeans.

"Piper." She turned to look at him as she pulled on her hiking boots. He struggled for a moment. "She wasn't the only one that was…" He stopped and twisted his neck, trying to find the words. "I wasn't happy while ya were gone." He finally said at length watching as her eyes softened at his attempted confession.

She abandoned her shoes laces and crawled back over to him, leaning down slightly to his propped up body. The kiss she gave him was so sweet and soft he felt like it could have melted him into a puddle. He couldn't help but think of it as a reward for being semi open to her.

Piper smiled when she pulled away and his eyes were closed, breathing shallow. "I love you Daryl." She whispered.

He nodded, eyes still closed. Was this what it was like? To have someone actually care about you? He'd never experienced it so he didn't know. All he knew was that it was a very vulnerable feeling that he couldn't help but stifle with the warmth it created. He opened his eyes as she pulled away, not expecting a response. All he could do was stare at her while she left the tent.

* * *

Piper moved around the grounds of the farm, trying not to track the children she was playing with and actually let them have a chance at the game of hide and seek.

She had spent to morning playing cards with the Carl and Sophia, trying to think of every game she could think of to keep them busy. Eventually all three of their bodies had become too jittery to sit still and she had convinced their mothers that they need to move around and be physically active. It was as much for her sake as theirs. Her metabolism and energy levels had been working over time since she was four years old and she had never let them stop.

Carl had already broken the rules of hide and seek several times, moving from his spot when he saw that she was getting close. She didn't mind. Instead she turned her back as if she was looking somewhere else and let him switch. Sophia hadn't been any better, moving outside the confines that they had set as borders. She had found her in one of the cars behind the barn once already, giggling at her own genius.

Piper slipped over the fence that separated the rest of the farm from the barn and looked around, not bothering with the gate since she loved to climb. She had never come this way, preferring to stick to the fields and streams. There were patches of tall, golden grass littering the ground but she couldn't see anything moving in them. She brushed the sweat from her forehead and moved closer to the barn with a slight smirk on her face. If she was hiding that's definitely where she would pick.

She smiled and searched around some of the trailers and old cars parked behind it before her nose picked up on something vaguely familiar.

"Sophia? Carl?" She called out softly, getting no response. She frowned and walked closer to the barn, putting her hands on the worn old wood before feeling something push back against the boards. She stepped back in confusion before looking around. Find a ladder she pulled herself up it and into the loft.

"Hey Daryl?"

Daryl looked up to see Carl and Sophia walking up to him as he carved a few new arrows. He grunted his acknowledgement of their presence.

"Um," Carl looked at him nervously. "We were playing hide and seek with Piper and I think she thought it was her turn to hide." Daryl glanced up at them, waiting for the two kids to get to the point.

"We can't find her." Sophia told him, far less nervous then Carl. This after all was one of the two people that had found and saved her. Piper had told her that Daryl was the one that looked for her every single day and wasn't ever going to give up on her.

"She's a good hider. Try harder." Daryl told them with a shake of his head. Both children shifted on their feet making him look up at their sad faces. "What?" He sighed.

"We've just…we've been looking for over an hour." Sophia told him.

Grumbling he stood up and tossed his arrow to the ground. The children followed him around as he looked for their lost play mate. Several of the spots he was told she had hid in before. He shook his head with a slight smile. They were obvious. She had made sure that the kids could find her.

In the back of his mind he wondered if she had run off into the woods again for some peace. He hoped she wouldn't after this morning, after kissing him like that. He instantly tried to push the thought to the back of his mind. She had promised him that she wouldn't…plus she had left her weapons in the tent. Hunters didn't leave without their necessities.

Finally he started out towards the fence.

"I hid out in the cars earlier." Sophia told him proudly. "Piper said it was a good hiding place!"

Daryl nodded and followed the foot prints in the dust from her hiking boots, checking the little bit of high grass but he knew she wouldn't sit in it for a whole hour. She would make herself easier to catch once the children had taken too long to find her. As he walked up to the cars he scrunched his nose up, smelling something.

He glanced back at the kids. "Go back ta camp." He told them. If Piper had found and killed something he didn't want the little ones to see it. When they didn't move he gave a gruff "Now! I'll find her," and they ran back the way they had come.

He rubbed his head and looked around for a moment. "Oh please Piper." He muttered to himself, hoping that she hadn't killed anything too bad. He didn't know if Shane was still riding her ass since he had spent most of the day on his own, thinking about what he had wanted to do to her that morning. A smile grin broke out of his face at the idea of Shane provoking her and her….ending that problem.

Following the newest set of foot prints he climbed up the ladder into the hay loft. "Piper." He said in relief. She put her finger to her lips for him to be quiet and he raised an eyebrow as she turned her dilated eyes to look over the ledge again. She was sitting with her legs dangling casually off the top of the broad loft floor, rolling a piece of hay in her fingers. He couldn't see over it but she seemed…fixated.

He frowned and walked slowly over. The moment he looked down her grabbed her by the back of the shirt, yanking her back harshly from the ledge with a loud curse. "What. The. Hell!" He swore, looking down at the mulling walkers that instantly became agitated at the sounds of live food. He looked back at Piper in shock as she pushed herself up from the ground. "Piper! What the hell?" He directed at her this time, still leaning over and looking down at the gaggle of walkers.

Piper stepped up to his side, looking down too. His arm pulled her closer to him to make sure she was steady. Her hand instantly went to her empty belt as she looked only to remember that there was nothing there. "I don't know. I just came in and…found them like this."

Daryl's eyes ran over the at least twenty walkers, snapping and clawing at the hay and walls under them. He shook his head. "We need ta get outta here." He murmured, taking her arm. She stayed planted to the ground. "Piper!" He hissed.

Her eyes drifted from the walkers back to his face. "Why are they here?"

Daryl shook his head. "Don't know. Don't care. All that matters is gettin our asses out of here." He turned back to the ladder to see a white and blue baseball cap pop up.

"You shouldn't have seen this." Glenn told them once he had pulled himself all the way up.


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry that it took me a little longer to put this chapter out than normal everyone! My Blade story caught my attention yesterday and when inspiration strikes you just can't ignore it! **

**If you are enjoying this fic please check out my friend Gurl3677's stories. Shes amazing and a totally sweetheart…even if she is a little bit of a "chapter tease." (Chapter Tease: to end a chapter right before you get to the good stuff!)**

**Chapter Thirty One: **

"This aint our problem Piper!"

Piper watched Daryl toss some of his things into a bag and begin to roll up the sleeping bags and blankets on the floor. Every few seconds he would glance at her to see what she was doing but she just sat Indian style in the sticky tent and waited, watching him. Finally he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling her eyes on him and looked at her totally, turning around and leaning on his hunches.

"Okay. Why aint you packin' up?" He asked her in annoyance.

Piper shrugged and looked back out the mesh of the tent window towards the barn. "They're just walkers."

Piper had the feeling that she should be more afraid of walkers then she was. The way that Daryl had gripped her close while Glenn was telling them about why the walkers were in the barn betrayed the look of anger on his face. His fingers had gripped her so tight on the arm and waist that she was sure he was going to pop her arm off.

Daryl felt himself growl in the back of his throat, trying to hold it down. "Girl…it's a lot of walkers." He shoved another shirt into his bag. "These people be crazy to think they're people an' can…cure em or whatever."

He glanced back over as Piper gave a little snorting laugh. "We're all a little crazy…" She muttered sadly, wrinkling her nose.

Daryl shook his head and stopped, watching as her mind visually worked. Yes, she was a little bit crazy but not keeping-your-dead-walker-wife-in-the-barn crazy. He could deal with her kind of crazy: kill-everything-that-might-be-a-threat crazy.

"What?!" He asked exasperated but unable to stop wondering what had her looking guilty and confused.

Piper looked up at him, not willing to share her thoughts just yet. "We shouldn't leave." She said calmly. "We should wait until Glenn tells the others. See how they react. Rick will talk to Hershal or something." She paused watching his face contort as she mentioned Rick fixing their problems.

Daryl turned his broad back to her, not really packing anymore but not willing to look at her as he felt jealousy boil in his gut. He didn't like the fact that Rick seemed to be the only other man that she trusted. She had even hugged the cop. He knew that the day would come when she realized that even if she loved him, she could love someone so much better. That someone could love her so much better.

Piper watched as his shoulders tensed and rolled as he tried to release some of the tensed muscles there. "Do you really want to leave?" She asked him quietly, sliding so that she was closer to his back.

He closed his eyes as her hand slid down his sore spine. It was so tempting…just to take off with her and never come back. They could find their own farm and pretend that nothing had happened. They could hunt for food and spend the nights doing whatever they wanted, however they wanted, where ever. That didn't even just include sex. It would mean that there were no more secrets. No trying to hide her and his tendencies. If he found her covered in walker gore he could just laugh and tell her good job.

All the same he knew that there was safety in numbers. It was good for her to be around other people besides him. He was vicious just like her. Being with the kids and all seemed to make her a bit less…predatory.

He let out an irritated noise, still feeling her little hands trail up and down his spinal cord. "Wanna but not gunna." He muttered turning and moving her so that she was sitting in between his knees. He exhaled as he let his hand come up to cup her face, watching as she leaned in a kissed his palm, holding his hand to her cheek with both of hers. Daryl watched her and let a feeling of calm wash over him for a moment. She was being calm…her of all people. He could be too, just for a moment. "Chinaman said he was gunna tell everyone tomorrow at breakfast."

Piper nodded into his hand. "Not much could be done before then anyway…unless," She looked up at him questioningly. "Do you want me to go in and kill them all now?" He snorted. "Hey! I can do it!"

Daryl shook his head in utter amusement. "Nah…don't want ya near there. Ya can just stay put in this tent all night." He pulled her tighter against him, her hands running up his chest over his shirt. "Ya touch me so damn much."

Piper frowned slightly and pulled her hands away. "I'll stop."

Daryl shook his head and took her wrists, putting her hands back on his chest. "Don't mind it." He told her, knowing that secretly he liked it. Her fingers twisted into the fabric of his shirt, both of them looking down at her hands.

Piper smiled a little as she angled her head to rub her nose against his while starting to undo the buttons on his shirt.

Daryl's breath caught but he didn't return the sweet gesture, his attention intent on her sparkling eyes starring so closely into his and the way her little fingers felt as they brushed against his skin. "You sure darlin'?" He finally murmured as she pushed the shirt from his broad shoulders.

Piper smiled and shook her head, giving him a gentle kiss. His hand came to her cheek as her tender lips caressed his rough ones. "Stop asking me that…" She whispered, eyes darting along his face. "If you haven't noticed, I like being with you."

Daryl nodded and stroked the soft skin of her cheek with his thumb. Leaning in he kissed her harder this time, feeling her lips respond to him instantly and her arms wrap around his neck. Her hips pressed down into his and he felt a low moan escape into her mouth. His fingers tugged at the edge of her shirt until she broke away from him to pull it over her head. He wasted no time in getting the rest of their dirty clothing off, desperate to feel the soft skin that he knew was waiting for him underneath.

Piper closed her eyes as he took her body and leaned it back, one strong hand behind her neck and the other on the small of her back. He leaned over her and looked down her body. Except for the bit mark on her breast and that nearly lethal mark on her thigh he loved her scars. They were light and almost white, raised little patches of tissue, reminding him that he wasn't the only imperfect thing in this tent. Other than that she was every mans dream, perfect, tiny, sweet, utterly beautiful.

He ran his fingers along her body as he continued to stay lying over her, wanting to feel her pressed under him. This time he was taking his time though, the trails slow and lazy as he just enjoyed the feel of her. Piper shivered, tracing the muscles in his forearms and shoulders, an occasion kiss being passed in between them.

Daryl shifted so that his legs came in between hers and pushed them apart, taking his spot in between her thighs. He braced one arm beside her head, continuing a deep, needing kiss while his other hand continued to stroke her side and thigh.

Piper let out a little whimper into his mouth as she felt him brush against her corn, teasing her by not moving in. He was so amazingly warm and firm everywhere, built up heat from the day pulsing out of his skin.

"This alright?" He murmured against her lips, praying to any god that would listen that she would say yes. She nodded and he felt out a little half smile before moving into her slowly. Piper let out a little gasp and the excruciatingly slow movement, gripping her nails into his back.

He bit his own tongue hard to stop from groaning out his appreciation of her tight, warm, little body. Once he was fully inside her he stayed for a moment trying to collect his composure as her muscles clenched around him tightly. Leaning up on his elbows he used one hand to push the hair from her face and kissed her cheeks, nose, lips; anywhere he could get at. Her eyes were closed and cheeks flushed already, breathing ragid to match his. He made a deep sound in his throat as he rotated his hips, causing her eyes to snap open and look at him.

Piper looked up at him, eyes locking with his as he moved. His eyes drifted down to watch their bodies move together, her small breasts press against his chest. He finally couldn't hold back the groan anymore and pulled her body up to him by the back of her neck as he began to move just a fraction faster. Her hips met his and he kissed her hard before burying her face in his neck and shoulder.

As they picked up pace he could feel her whimpering his name into his skin, laced with pleasure. Her long legs wrapped around him like a vice, tensing and loosening in time with his thrusts.

"Daryl! God!" Piper whimpered as she felt him brushing up and down all of her sensitive areas, her nipple pushing and rubbing against his chest. Her stomach contracted and she felt herself beginning to explode into a million pieces of throbbing pleasure under him.

Daryl pulled her away the moment he felt it, leaning her back down on the ground so that he could watch her come. One hand gripped her chin so she wouldn't toss her face away from him. It was possibly the most erotic thing he had ever seen in his life, watching her body tense and her pulse pound in her neck. She bit her swollen bottom lip and hissed his name through it with her eyes wide open to watch him. He groaned loudly…too loudly for anyone not to hear and spilled himself inside her, not willing to let himself freeze up. He continued to move in her until he was sure he was finished.

Daryl stayed laying over her, wrapping the blanket around them instead of moving. He didn't want to move away, lose this closeness. He had never thought that moving slow would ever be that enjoyable. He could feel every inch of her pressed against him, every hitched breath, every whimper reverberating through his skin. It was sexy as hell and intimate at the same time. Way better then taking some bitch he didn't know in the back of his ford.

She smiled at him and placed kisses on his face and arms as he rested against her, body no longer menacing but warm and comforting.

"When I found ya…in the woods." Daryl finally muttered when he found his voice. "That wasn't…it wasn't yer first time or nothing was it?"

Piper frowned and craned her neck to look at him. "My first time being sexually assault? Or my first time having sex?"

"First time havin' sex." He grumbled into her neck. Though it better have been the first time being 'sexually assaulted' as she put it. He wanted to tell her that what had happened in those woods wasn't really sex anyway, but he didn't want to ruin this moment.

Piper let out a little laugh and put her head back against the blankets. "No Daryl. I was not a virgin." He looked up at the humor with which she said it. "I'm 24 years old. Not 16."

Daryl leaned up on his elbows and looked down at her. "Yer 24?"

Piper frowned at the serious expression on his face. "Almost 25 by now. Why how old are you?"

Daryl snorted and shook his head. She was such a baby still! "Aint 24."

"Does that really matter anymore?" She asked him with a hint of a laugh in her tone. "Am I too young for you?"

Daryl looked down at her. He had known she was young, just not that young. She had one of those faces that never really aged. "Guess it don't matter." He murmured, kissing her shoulder. "Besides. Not like I can take it back now."

Piper just shook her head at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've always had a thing for older guys anyway." She whispered before kissing him again.


	32. Chapter 32

**JavaNut: Lol I loved her lack of reaction. Like we know how to kill walkers. Whats the problem?**

**Leyshla Gisel: Nothing wrong with a little loving!**

**jstarr713: Heck yes he does! I'm 25 and I would still sleep with him…hell I would love that! 20 year age difference who the heck cares!**

**gurl3677: I don't think he realizes that she loves him for reasons other then him saving her.**

**BelmontCalyx: Lol little bit of Daryl Dixon "humor" in there.**

**Thank you to Melissa, Emberka-2012 and Kit-cat99**

**Favorite**** Line: _But in some dark back corner of both of their mind she would always be that raw, cut up, carcass he had found in the woods._**

**Chapter Thirty Two:**

Piper paced outside the barn as the others looked at the faded old boards in the mid-morning light. She was nervous, really nervous. Heat was already causing small lines of perspiration on the back of her neck and arms. She was starting to wish that she hadn't come here for this conversation.

What if the walkers could be saved and she just had killed over two dozen of them in the woods? Then again would they want to come back after tearing into the flesh of other people than feasting on it? Could you come back after something like that? What walkers did made her look like a pixie! She ran her hands through her hair as she walked back and forth, hearing the sounds of agitated walkers from her side.

"I talked to Hershal." Dale was telling them. "He thinks that they're people."

"They ain't people!" Shane yelled, clearly as angry as she felt.

Dale shook his head as he tried to reason with the other men. "They think that they're people! He's wife is in there. His stepson!"

Piper rubbed the back of her neck, continuing to look at the barn as they talked. "They aren't people anymore." Piper finally muttered, her eyes locked on the now ominous structure. Her nervous energy drew all of their attention. "They don't look like people, they don't smell like people when you cut them open. They don't scream like a person when you slice into them." Piper pressed her fingers to her forehead as she tried to ignore the mental images and smells from remembering how it felt to be so viciously brutal, to take control of herself and her life. She tried to push back the memory of the muffled scream or the way that warm freshly spilled blood on her hands.

"Piper!" Daryl hissed, watching the emotions run over her face, giving her away more than her words. It was too late though and Shane and Rick were staring at her hard. Her normally quiet voice always drew all attention. She had given it away.

"How would you know what sounds a person makes when you kill them Piper?" Rick asked her slowly, his eyes focused on the wild cat like girl in front of them. She just shook her head, sending warming curls everywhere and stopped her pacing as Daryl grabbed her arm roughly.

"Holy shit, I knew it." Shane muttered, rubbing his shaved head.

Daryl pulled her behind him roughly. "Stupid girl!" He hissed.

"Now we gotta deal with walkers and a little psycho killer?" Shane yelled, looking at Rick. "You can't be okay with this!"

"He deserved it!" Piper hissed out, trying to move past Daryl. He used one massive arm to keep her back, muttering for her to shut up. "No!" She told him. "I'm sick of hiding and pretending it was wrong! He got everything he deserved and if I could I would do it again!" She yelled.

"Piper…" Rick said to her, voice hard. "What did you do? Who was it?"

"Who the hell cares?!" Shane yelled, pulling his gun from his pants. "She killed a human being Rick! You and I both know what that means."

Piper tensed, her entire body on fire when she saw him going to the weapon in the hands of a man that didn't like her and who she didn't trust. If Daryl hadn't been holding her back she would have either bolted or launched herself at him.

"Man ya don't know shit!" Daryl grabbed her tighter and pulled her around so that he was facing her and still blocking her from the rest of the group. She wasn't the only one that had killed someone in this group. The man accusing her was just as guilty and her rapist sure as hell deserved it more than Otis. He glanced at the gun in Shane's hand, his intention clear. "Don't say a fuckin word an' stay behind me." He told her sternly, gripping onto both of her arms.

"Daryl what is going on?" Dale asked them carefully as Rick pushed the barrel of Shane's gun down.

"He deserved it! He was the fucker that nearly raped her ta death! If anyone deserved to die it was him!" Daryl yelled back, directing his anger at Shane. "I made her and he got what was comin' ta him. She didn't do it, I would have done it myself!"

Shane glared at them and then at Rick as his expression changed to an understanding one. "Was he the only one?" Rick asked them carefully. Daryl gave him a curt nod and Rick visibly seemed to relax a little.

"Piper." He said softly, making her glance up from where she stood trying to block out the memories and what she wanted to do to the man that held a gun on her. "Piper." Rick repeated, drawing her bright green eyes to him. "It's going to be okay."

Shane let out a hysterical laugh. "Okay?! Are you kidding me! She's a killer."

"She aint a fuckin' killer!" Daryl bellowed at him. "She aint no pyhsco either."

Rick seemed to acknowledge the words but Shane shook his head. "Wasn't you're decision to make Daryl!"

"Ya'll didn't see her! Ya didn't know what she fuckin looked like; ta see her like that all torn up and cut into a million pieces layin' there like garbage!" Daryl yelled at Shane. He could feel Piper tense behind him, but he didn't care right now. He was fired up and Rick literally was stopping him from stepping into Shane. "She's mine so yeah it was my decision! If it'd been Lori being carried inta camp half dead and cut up, ya'll would have done the same thing."

Piper closed her eyes as she heard him speak. That memory was always going to be cemented in his memory just like it was in hers. It was like he had been carrying a corpse out of the woods. She had to get better. Yes the cuts had healed and she wasn't as vicious all the time anymore. But in some dark back corner of both of their mind she would always be that raw, cut up, carcass he had found in the woods.

"Piper." She was drawn out of her thoughts as Rick stepped around the angry Daryl, who was still yelling at Shane. He held out his hands as he came up to her slowly, clearly seeing the distress passing over her face. If it had been Lori he would have killed the man too. He would have ended him without a second thought. "It's okay sweetheart." Finally the two other men stopped to watch them as Rick put his large hands on slightly shaking her shoulders. Piper shook her head at him. "Yes…yes it is." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tight.

Daryl gritted his teeth as he watched Pipers hands grip the side of the man's shirt. Spiting on the ground he glared one last time at Shane before stomping off.

Rick watched before turning his face back down to the girl who was whispering "He deserved it" over and over again into his shirt.

"I know…I know." Rick told her with a nod. Shane blew out a long breathe before looking away.

* * *

"Daryl." Rick said as he walked up to the old tree that the other man was leaning against. He had spoken with Hershal about the walkers, coming to no decision about what to do about the walkers in the barn. He was hoping that he'd have better luck with Daryl.

Daryl didn't look up at the intrusion, continuing his work on new arrows.

Rick rubbed his head and sat down on his hunches in front of the man. "I put her in your tent…she's fine." Daryl grunted. "Look Daryl. I get it. You were right about if it was Lori. I would have killed him too." Again Daryl just grunted. Rick frowned and looked back towards the camp. "She's…well she's a bit like a child isn't she? She needs you right now."

Daryl shook his head. "She seems fine with ya." He grumbled.

Rick frowned. "No…no Daryl. You're the one that she cares about. She knows that I won't hurt her now but she wants you there."

Daryl growled and stood up. "She don't know no better!" He snarled. "Aint right that I'm the one who found her! Should have been someone better!" He threw the arrows down on the ground.

"But it wasn't!" Rick told him. "You found her! You earned her trust! You're the one that she loves."

"Don't love her back right!" Daryl muttered, rubbing his lips and shaking his head. "Shouldn't have never done it…shouldn't have fallen fer a guy like me!"

"But she did!" Rick told him solidly. "And right now she needs you; needs to not feel like a killer."

Daryl frowned and glanced back at the camp. "Don't know what ta do." He told himself more then the other man.

Rick gave a little half smile. "You just go in there…hold onto her. Tell her that she's alive and cared for. That's all you can really do. That's all any of us can really do for a women in pain. That and listen to her but she doesn't talk that much so that part should be easy for you." He let out a little half laugh as he said it.

Daryl walked into the abandon tent, searching for her. "Course she's fuckin gone." He muttered to himself before stepped back out and looking around the buzzing camp site.

She was nowhere, as usual. Daryl growled and began his normal search for her: the edge of the woods, her swing, the fields. He felt his heart rate pick up murderously where she was in none of her normal places. It clattered against his chest and for a moment he was sure that he was going to have a heart attack. What the hell had this crazy little animal done to him? He had thought that love was all her sweet kisses and adoring looks…but this? This was murderous. It had to be one of the worst feelings he had ever experienced in his life.

Walking back from the fields he finally caught sight of her, sitting perched on the fence that looked towards the barn. He let a breath release and composed himself as much as he could. Slowly he walked over to the fence and leaned against it, bracing his back on the uneven boards.

Piper glanced at him as she stripped a piece of grass apart before looking back towards the barn.

Daryl nibbled on his thumb nail as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. "Whatcha doin' out here girl?" He finally asked her.

"Keeping watch." She told him as he looked at her profile, drawing his eyes totally to her. She was a beautiful women, a line for perspiration ran down her slender neck. He could see a small light bruise from where his mouth had assaulted her the night before. Whips of hair that were coming loose from her French braid whipped around it as a breeze blew through. He watched as she wrinkled her nose when a piece of hair touched it. He turned away and shook his head before reaching out and putting his hand on her knees, propped up against one of the lower rails.

"I shouldn't have said anything…I know that." She muttered, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Was easier when ya were just talkin ta me." He muttered, gripping onto her knee as he remembered her holding onto Rick instead of him.

Piper nodded and took his hand off her knee, wrapping it around her shoulders instead. He didn't want to hold on right now but he couldn't help but let his fingers run along her smooth arm. "Why did you walk away?" He grunted something intelligible. "Was it because of Rick hugging me?" She looked over at him when she felt his short nails grip into her arm. "Daryl?"

"I liked it when I was the only one ta touch ya like that." He finally struggled to get out. "Should have just taken ya somewhere else."

Piper turned to him on the fence, facing him and looking at his stony face. "You're the only person who gets to really touch me Daryl…you know that."

Daryl glanced over at her as she looked at him, shifting on his feet. "Should have been Rick that found ya out there…someone… better."

Piper frowned at him. "I don't want Rick. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to find me. I love you." Daryl shook his head. "Dammit Daryl why wont you believe that!"

"Cause yer ya and I'm me!" Daryl said pulling away from her. "Yer amazing and strong and beautiful and I'm…me. I can't be what ya want! I'm just helpin ya get back ta normal. Yer gunna move on!"

Piper pulled herself off the fence and starred at him. "Don't you get it Daryl! There's no getting back to what I was! I can never go back after something like this happens: people eating each other alive and coming back from the dead! This is normal now!" She took a deep breath and looked back at the barn before her eyes caught his again. "If you love me or care or whatever because you think I'm going to go back to what I was, then we might as well just go our separate ways now because it's not going to happen!"

"Ain't like that." He hissed at her. He liked her how she was now, what she was. He just knew that even like this she deserved something better but he wasn't going to say any of that. He couldn't. She had already unraveled him so much, making him fall for her and making his heart stop like it had been when he was looking for her.

Piper starred at him for a moment before she realized that he wasn't going to continue. "Dammit Daryl." She muttered. "Whatever you think is wrong with you I'm going to tell you the same thing that you told me: Don't be afraid and get over it!" She would obviously be there for him like he was for her so why wouldn't he just open up? She couldn't do anything until he let her in.

He watched as she walked away, her steps sure and angry. She stopped a few feet away from him and turned back, her little eyebrows knotted together.

She let out another breath before walking back toward him and pushing up onto her toes, kissing him lightly. "Give me five minutes a night of you saying all of those things that you hold back. Open up…just for five minutes….or you really are going to lose me for real this time." He looked down at her, hands flexing and not knowing what to say.

Piper shook her head at his non responsiveness and began her walk back to camp.


	33. Chapter 33

**Leyshla Gisel****: They do! But if Daryl wants to keep Piper he's going to have to open up a bit and realize that she's not the only one who needs fixing.**

**Guest: Lol. Isn't that how it always is though? We can see what other people need but can't see it in ourselves. **

**ArmedWithMyComputer****: I think when I wrote this I wasn't thinking about it but it definitely developed that Daryl wants her to be healed but he kind of likes having her all to himself as well.**

**gurl3677****: "Stupid Girl."- I think at some points you defiantly do want to slap him and that's what makes you love him too. **

**vexingvixen7****: She came to terms with what she did and she doesn't think she's wrong so why should she hide it. She's not a monster she just knows who deserves a shot to the head or a knife to the heart. **

**Kit-cat99****: That's exactly what they are coming to but poor daryl doesn't understand that.**

**Thank you for reviewing to: ****Melanie, ****jstarr713****, ****Emberka-2012**** and ****SaraLostInes****. **

_**Favorite Line: "Know this aint five minutes girl but…yer the first person I ever said I love ya to….and," He paused and murmured the next part against her skin, as if he could hide it there. "Yer the first person who's ever said it ta me."**_

**Chapter Thirty Three:**

It was late when Daryl came back to the tent, the moon high in the sky and the rest of the camp already asleep. He had taken time to sit and watch the barn, not knowing what else to do. He didn't know what to tell her; where to start. He'd never opened up to anyone before…there was no point. They would just use it against him. But if he didn't tell her something when he got back to the tent tonight he was pretty sure that she wouldn't be there in the morning.

So what to tell her? About his fucked up family and upbringing? About the abuse? About how his entire life no one had expected him to be anything but trash and out of spite he had swooped to below their expectations? He didn't want her to know those things. But then again she hadn't wanted to tell him a lot of the things that had happened to her that fateful day in the woods either.

He frowned as he looked down at the girl, her curls cast behind her, face turned towards the wall of the tent. She was taking deep even breathes, eyes closed. Reaching out his hand he twisted a strand of her hair in between his fingers for a moment. He wondered what her life was before this. He knew she was a dancer and had a family; knew that her mother was a gymnast and that she had been an athlete for most of her life. He knew from those pictures they had looked through in her bag that she had always been beautiful.

Giving a little grunt he sat down on the side of the bed and began to undo his boots.

Piper woke the moment he walked into the tent, feeling him standing over her and playing with her hair. She worked to keep her breathing level and her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. She didn't know if she could handle him and her own emotional exhaustion right now.

She felt him shift onto the ground lying next to her on his back for a moment. He turned on his side to her after a few second, bringing a hand to waist lightly on her waist. He lips pressed against the back of her shoulder, making her eyes finally open.

"Know this aint five minutes girl but…yer the first person I ever said I love ya to….and," He paused and murmured the next part against her skin, as if he could hide it there. "Yer the first person who's ever said it ta me."

Piper let out a shaky breath and Daryl froze, thinking that she had been asleep. She turned and look up at him as he leaned over her. "Your father or mother never said it? Your brother?" She whispered up to the handsome face.

Daryl shook his head. "My daddy used his fists ta show shit. My Mama died before I could even remember her. My brother…well, ya met Merle."

Piper looked up at him comfortingly. "I'm sorry Daryl." He furrowed his eye brows at the girl under him. She bit her lip at the strained look on his face from telling her something so simple…sad but simple. "I was adopted." She tried making his eyes come back to her face. "When I was two. When I got older my mom told me that my birth mother was a crack addict and that's why I got taken away."

Daryl frowned down at her. The idea of her being born into the same kind of world he was had never occurred to him.

She ran her fingers along the angular lines of his face. "Thank you for telling me that."

He let out a sigh and leaned down on his arm next to her, determine to ignore the feelings running through him at the confession. "Did ya ever think ya'd be with someone like me?" He murmured, trying to distract himself

Piper smiled slightly at him, rolling onto her side to face him. "What do you mean someone like you? Someone strong, handsome, caring…good in bed?"

"Ya know what I mean Piper." Daryl rolled his eyes. "Dirty, rough, red neck…"

Piper gripped his shirt tight. "Stop it Daryl." He looked at her questioningly. "Stop putting yourself down like that. You're a much better man then you think you are."

Daryl snorted, rolling onto his back. Didn't she get it? He was dirty red neck trash and she was a beautiful little performer that anyone would be crazy not to look at.

Piper pulled herself up and leaned over her friend and lover. "Not everyone would have taken the time to save a girl that close to death. Not everyone would sit there in my tent with me, letting me hold onto them when I woke up. No one I ever knew would hunt down that man for me or spend days looking for a lost little girl." He looked up at her with his eyes brows furrowed. "You're an amazing human being. Even if you don't believe it you have to know that I do. I love you."

Daryl licked his lower lip and gave her a little nod. He believed her; believed that she thought it at least. "That count as five minutes?" He muttered.

Piper shook her head with a little smile playing at her lips. "Yeah. Good enough…for tonight." She pecked his lips lightly and settled down beside him while he thought about what kind of head trauma she must have had to think all of those wonderful things about him.

* * *

Piper was squatting on the ground, preparing water to clean his catches with. The other women were alright with cooking the meat but still hadn't gotten used to the seeing the meat in its whole animal form.

Lori had not to nicely remind her that, "Gutting something that looks alive shouldn't be a problem for you Piper, considering…" Her own husband had been able to understand what the girl did but she couldn't. All that Shane had told Lori was that Piper was exactly what he was worried she would be: a danger.

"Considering what?" Piper prodded her. If there was something the other women wanted to say she would rather her just say it and not beat around the bush. Lori shook her head and just looked back down into the weighted laundry basket she was carrying. "If you can't finish your sentences don't start them at all Lori." She had muttered.

Piper glanced up as Daryl came up beside her later the next afternoon. Daryl held out the band of squirrels and rabbits to her as he approached, noticing the bristled look Piper had about her. At first he thought that it might be Shane but glancing to the side he saw Lori shrinking away.

He reached down and put his hand on the top of her head, discreetly rubbing his thumb in her hair. He didn't know why he even still bothered. Everyone knew that she was his. In fact they had probably known longer then he did. At the same time this was still too new for him to process fully.

"Any news?" He asked her quietly, pulling his knife and handing it to her.

Piper shook her head and took the familiar weapon. "Rick went with Hershal and that Jimmy kid a while ago. Haven't seen or heard anything from them since." She glanced up to see some of the other women looking at her as she held the knife.

Daryl furrowed his eyes brows as she rolled her eyes. "Don't mind them Piper. They're just a gaggle of women folk being dumb."

To his utter surprised Piper laughed. "A gaggle? Like…geese?" He nodded and she considered. "I like that." She told her with a bright smile as she started stripping the animals of their insides and skin.

"What the hell is this?" Daryl muttered as he saw Shane stomping out of the woods with the bag of guns.

Piper rose and shielded her eyes to look at him coming towards the group. "I really don't like it when he has guns." She muttered. Daryl grunted his confirmation as Shane charged towards the group.

"Time to handle this!" Shane told them all solidly as the rest of the group gathered around to see what was happening.

"Shane this is not your call to make." Lori told him, hugging Carl to him. Shane ignored them and began to unzip and pull the guns from the bag.

"If you do this my dad is going to make you leave." Maggie told them, voice shaking.

"We aint going anyway." Shane said solidly. "Hershal he's just going to have to understand." He looked at Glenn. "You man, you gunna protect your own?" Glenn glanced at Maggie before taking the gun.

Shane looked at Daryl and Piper as they stood watching him closely. Daryl sported an expression of stoic annoyance while Piper crossed her arms over her chest, unsure. Shane walked up to Piper. "You and me we don't see eye to eye sweetheart but this is what your good at." He held the gun out to her. Piper licked her lips and took it. "Don't make me regret this girl."

He looked at Daryl who had tensed up muscles ready and jumping. "You with me man?"

Daryl snatched the gun from him. "Yeah."

"It was one thing sitting around picking daisies when we thought this place was safe!" Shane bellowed to all of them. "But now we know it ain't."

Piper frowned at the rallying cry before her eyes caught movement in the trees. She straightened totally up when she saw Figures leading others out on long catcher polls releasing a breath. Both Daryl and Shane followed her intense gaze.

"Oh what the hell is this?!" Shane bellowed, starting to run with everyone following him.

Piper stayed planted to her spot as the rest of the group ran towards the walkers home. She looked at the gun before lifting it and training it on the back of the shaven head running. It would be so easy…it felt easy. Just one squeeze and she could end everyone's trouble and anxiety. One little twitch and what she had come to realize was not only her problem but most of the groups problems would be blown into a million blood soaked pieces.

Letting out a breath she lowered the gun and ran after the rest of the group.

* * *

Leaning down over the walker that had been Hershal's wife, Piper frowned. She couldn't see a human in those rotting features anymore; hadn't been able to when she had pierced through the woman's head to stop her from devouring her own daughter. But then again, she reflected to herself that she had started to not see that in the living either. There were two kinds of beings in this world: Allie or enemy.

Glancing to the side she saw the rest of the family crying as her group mulled around. Carol and Lori were trying to drag the children back as Maggie held Beth in her arms sobbing uncontrollably. These had been their family once. She doubted that she would ever see her own family again. They were walkers now like these once good people must have been.

She tilted her head to the side before reaching down and pulling a golden chain from the woman's neck.

"Piper don't touch them." Rick chocked out.

Piper stood and walked over to Maggie and Beth, kneeling in front of them. She pried Beth's hands away from her tear streaked face and pulled her fingers open, slipping the cross necklace into her palm and shutting the shaking girls fingers around it. "I'm sorry." She told the girls.


	34. Chapter 34

**Leyshla Gisel****: I definitely think that they can't understand what she did because they didn't have to go through the trauma of it themselves. They are still stuck in that "let the authorities deal with it" mentality. **

**Guest: Thank you so much for your glowing review. I am glad that you are enjoying the writing style as well as the story itself. Stimulating the senses always makes me feel more connected to the characters and to the moment. **

**Emberka-2012****: A little bit is the best way to start. And I think that him telling her that she was the first person to ever tell him that she loves him says a lot more then he thought it would. It opens up so many doors about him. **

**Thank you to ****JavaNut****, ****Kit-cat99**** and ****gurl3677****. **

**Please continue to review guys! I really love feed back and I post depending on reviews! The more reviews the faster I will get the chapters out. **

**Favorite Line: **_**"Manipulative bitch."**_

**Chapter Thirty Four: **

Piper watched Lori walking away from Daryl angrily. The lanky brunette slammed her tiny fist into a tree before looking up at her who was watching. Piper cocked her head to the side in question as Lori changed her trajectory towards her.

"Daryl won't go find Rick, Glenn and Hershal." Lori told her firmly. "They've been gone too long! Someone needs to go and look for them."

"Why don't you go find them?" Piper mumbled. She didn't understand why it always had to be Daryl going and finding food, supplies and people. Sure, he come and found her, but at least she had gone out looking for him too.

Lori looked at her sharply. "Because I have a son that needs at least one parent to be around…and, well, I'm pregnant. No one but Rick and Glenn know yet." She told Piper who seemed to consider despite her harsh tone. The girl's eyes darted down to her stomach and Lori immediately knew that she had hit a button. "But I will go if I have to. Can you talk some sense into him?"

Piper shook her head negative but looked over to where he was sharpening his knife against a leather strap and his knee. That was Rick's baby in there. Rick stood up for her, he had come looking for her along with Glenn. "Get me some keys." Piper finally whispered before she slipped past the slight women and over towards Daryl.

He looked up at her sharply as she kneeled in front of him, her sweet face and bright green eyes drawing his attention without him being able to control it. "No." He told her firmly before looking back down to his task.

Piper bit her lower lip as she looked up into his brooding face. He was working his jaw hard, teeth grinding together. "If it was me would you go?" She finally inquired.

Daryl tilted just his eyes up to her as she watched him. "Yer my women. I take care of what's mine." He told her before nodding over at the rest of the camp. "They need ta watch out fer theirs."

Piper nodded quickly, still trying to get used to the idea of ownership and protection. "Rick and Glenn are my…friends I guess." She said more to herself then to him. Her nose scrunched up when she said it, thinking the term over. She had a lot of friends before the world ended. They would go out sightseeing or dancing. There was a completely different perspective on friendship now.

"Whatcha getting at girl?" He asked her angrily, finally setting the knife and strap down. He leaned forward with his forearms on his knees, watching her closely.

Piper leaned forward and placed a smooth, gentle kiss on his lips, bracing her hands on his thick arms before reaching down while still connected to him and picking up the knife. "I'll be back." She whispered against his lips.

Daryl watched as she pulled away, utterly confused while she walked over towards Maggie's car. That is until he saw Lori come back and place a set of keys in her hand. She gripped them tightly before Lori passed her a small six shooter gun, just in case. He stood up quickly. "Piper don't." He told her, but she had that caged animal look in her bright green eyes again.

Piper looked down as Sophia came running up to her from the fire pit where she and Carol had been sitting, reading over old text books. "Are you leaving again?" Sophia asked, heartbroken.

She slipped on her knees in front of the little girl and smiled. "I'm going to be right back okay? I just have to go into town for an hour or two." She rubbed the girls thin arms. "Will you do me a favor while I'm gone?" Sophia nodded quickly and Piper glanced over at where Daryl was standing. "Keep an eye on everyone for me? Make sure no one gets into trouble?"

"Piper." Daryl said again sternly, his voice rimmed with anger.

"If you don't like it then you can come with me." She told him and he frowned and shook his head no at her again. Piper sighed and stood up, taking a step towards him. "It's just a little town Daryl. If anything there are a few walkers around. You know that I know how to deal with walkers."

Piper could clearly see the anger in his face. Rick was her friend though. She couldn't let his wife, no matter how snobby she was, go wandering around pregnant. If something happened to her and the unborn child it would crush him.

"I'm tellin ya Piper. No." Daryl tried to keep as much anger out of his voice as possible, knowing that she wouldn't respond to it. He knew that he should go with her but he had already caved in so much for her…and it was just a little town to pick up a group of idiots. She would probably meet them on the road on the way back anyway. "Ya leave, I aint comin after ya."

Piper let her lips twinge up at the stubbornness in his face and stance before pushing herself up on her toes and kissed him on his scruffy cheek. "I'll be back in a few hours. I love you." She told him before pushing back and climbing into the car, leaving the fuming man behind her.

She wanted to call to him 'last chance to come with me' but the anger on his face left no doubt that he wouldn't think it was funny.

Daryl turned to Lori who stood watching the car leave, clenching Sophia's hand. He took a few angry steps towards her. "Manipulative bitch." He muttered at her. "Next time ya go behind my back ta mess with mine there's gunna be hell ta pay. Got me?"

Piper smiled slightly as she drove, her head resting on an arm propped up against the window. Truth be told she didn't even have license before all of this happened. There was no point living in New York City. Even if you didn't want to use the sub way, the bus system or a cab, parking was always a nightmare that made public transportation necessary.

Glancing down at the map on the passengers seats maneuvered around a walker. "This isn't so hard." She murmured to herself. It was just like a driving game only it felt…faster. She liked fast. She had loved the ride on Daryl's bike. It was fast, the wind blew tantalizingly over her skin and through her hair. She rolled down her window and glanced to the side as she watched the world go by again.

She wondered how pissed he was about her doing this; how angry he was going to be when she got back. She leaned her head against the door frame, nibbling on her thumb as she thought about it. She loved him yes, but she was finding it harder and harder to be commanded. She wasn't scared anymore, knew that she wasn't as vulnerable as she had been when she had first been taken. She knew that he didn't want to share her attention and that he was worried about her being friends with other men because he didn't think he was good enough.

All the same Rick and Glenn were her friends. They had done the same for her and she couldn't ignore that. She went through what she was going to do once she reached the town. She had the knife, hatchet and six-shooter though she was still not comfortable with guns. She bit her lip as she thought about it. Once she reached the bar the others would be there, providing back up for whatever backup was needed to keep at bay any threat was keeping them.

Glancing down she realized that she was using the same hand motion that he used when he was nervous or awkward.

She chuckled to herself and lowered her hand back down to the steering wheel. She parked the car on the outskirts of the town. If something had gone wrong she didn't want to alert anyone that she was there. As silently as she could she opened the door to the car and crept out onto the streets.

* * *

Daryl watched as the car pulled into the farm, seeing Rick and Hershal in the front seat. He let out a breath of relief, knowing that Piper had to be with them.

He had spent the first few hours completely pissed off that she had left after he told her not to. That she had disobeyed him. He had thrown her things around the tent again, opened all of the flaps to try and get the sweet scent of her out. After about an hour it had transformed into frustration. He found himself looking down the driveway and scan it for signs of her than get angry with himself for doing it, rubbing his face and biting his thumb mercilessly until the cuticle bled. Finally that had seeped through him to regret for not going and worry as the hours went by.

He pushed forward to the car and yanked open the back door. He looked down at the bloody back seat with the blindfolded boy in the back.

"Where is she!?" He roared as everyone hugged each other.

Rick pulled away from Lori. "Daryl…I'm sorry."

"Why the hell are ya sorry!? Where the fuck is she!?"

Rick shook his head. "We were under fire. Saw her taking out some of the group that was around us as cover but there were quite a few of them. The place was crawling with walkers… She got distracted."

Daryl gulped down, feeling bile rise up into his throat. "She dead?" He felt his mouth dry out as he said it. He tried to keep swallowing and breathing to create saliva in his mouth but nothing was happening.

"No." Glenn said quickly, seeing the anger and panic building in the other man's stance. "No, one of the group that was attacking us took her; bashed her over the head while she was killing a walker. She slashed one of the guys across the chest but there were at least five of them."

"And ya just left her!?" That's it. Everyone was dead. He was going to kill everyone. He gripped Glenn's shirt, practically lifting him off the ground as his breath came out in angry gusts. "She went ta cover ya! How could ya just leave her!?"

"Daryl!" Rick tried to pry his hands from the kid, pushing him back. "We couldn't get to her in time but we are going to find her! That boy there," They looked at the blindfolded blood boy and he was pulled from the truck to be patched up. "He's part of that group. He'll tell us where they took her."

Daryl pushed Glenn away from him, nearly sending him to the ground. He was breathing hard, rubbing his face with his hands as he tried to process the idea of her being taken by a group of unknown men. He looked at where Hershal was taking the young man. "I question him." He growled. "Me."


	35. Chapter 35

_**Sorry everyone! I know I put this update fast but I've been hit over the head with inspiration for this story line and can't stop!**_

**jstarr713****: Not bad at all. In fact I am glad I'm not the only one who thought him doing that was hot. **

**gurl3677: Lol! No she was not trying to piss Daryl off. She was just thinking about the people she had actually made friends with. **

**JavaNut****: As she should be! **

**ArmedWithMyComputer****: Don't we all love a pissed off protective Daryl!**

**: Thank you! I love your name! **

**Kit-cat99****: People don't really think about who they kidnap do they? Piper is definitely not the right girl to go after anyone.**

**Emberka-2012****: I can see why Daryl would be mad at her but at the same time Piper isn't a Lori or Carol. She doesn't want to just sit at camp and wait for the men to come back. She's a fighter and he knows it.**

**GatorGirl99****: She was thinking about helping people that she actually acknowledges are her friends…which is kind of a big step for her.**

**Thank you to ****Melanie2390****, ****coconutcarter****, ****vexingvixen7****, ****Leyshla Gisel**** and **x XRoweenaJAugustineX x** for reviewing! **

**Favorite Line: "**_**His entire manner and look screamed "Deliverance." Piper could practically hear the banjo's in his voice."**_

**Chapter Thirty Five: **

The room felt unbelievably stuffy, the thick air sticking to her skin and limbs. Piper knew that she was blindfolded. She could feel it over the aching pain pounding like a deep techno like beat in the back of her head. She tried to open her eyes anyway to see just a little bit of dull light coming through the old fabric over her eyes.

She was about to call out but stopped herself quickly. If there was anyone wherever she was, it was best that they didn't know she was awake yet. Instead she took an inventory of herself, counting toes and fingers, seeing where everything hurt. Her head continued to pulse controllably and it felt wet and sticky. She wasn't laying or sitting, instead her body felt like it was stretched out, her arms over her head and her feet barely touching an uneven floor. Her wrists hurt and she could feel rope scratching into them while her shoulders hurt from being suspended. Other than her head and her wrists everything still felt whole. She could still feel her sweat soaked clothing on her body which was a good sign for now.

"That little bitch awake yet?" She heard a rough voice ask.

"Not yet." Came a higher, younger voice, but it was still distinctly male.

"Wake her up." Growled the first voice.

She heard rustling from one of the men coming up to her and tried to keep her body as relaxed as she could as the blindfold was taken from her face. All the same her muscles immediately tensed and her eyes popped open when a greasy hand gripped her chin.

"There we go." The rough voices owner said. He was a scruffy looking man with dark circles under his brown eyes from a mixture of malnutrition and dehydration. His entire manner and look screamed "Deliverance." Piper could practically hear the banjo's in his voice. His eyes ran over her face and body as she gritted her teeth and tried not to show any emotion.

Her eyes darted around the room. She was in a small shed like structure, a work bench at her side, just out of reach. There were various rusting tools on them including old screw drivers, a corroded power drill and a rusty saw. She could see the handle of a machete sticking out. Daryl said that people in these parts kept them around for snakes. But they were out of her reach, nothing useful at the moment.

It smelled like saw dust and blood…though the blood was probably from her head wound. Still she wondered if she was the first person to be held in here. The sun came through some of the boards on the walls casting little rays of bright light around the otherwise dim room. She blinked for a moment before she realized that the dots in her vision were dust particles in the sun and not just behind her eyes.

"You messed up Mark pretty bad." The man told her. "Knife right across the chest. He's going to have a nasty scar…bet he's gunna wanna get you back for that." Piper didn't say anything back, just looked at him as his rancid breath assaulted her face. "Should probably tell him you're sorry."

He waited but Piper, as always, kept her silence with strangers. Nothing she said would end well anyway. She hadn't meant to hurt 'Mark'; she'd meant to kill him.

The man with yellow teeth watched her for a moment, as if waiting for her to say she was sorry and beg. When she didn't he pushed on. "So these people of yours…where are they holing up?"

Piper narrowed her eyes at him, intense hatred showing through the bright green orbs. She still said nothing.

"Talk!" The man commanded, but she just stared at him hard. The back of his hand came up and struck her hard across the face, slipping her lip and filling her mouth with blood as the rope holding her swung. Piper turned her face back to him, letting a stream of crimson blood roll from her lip.

He starred at her as if he could will her to speak for a moment, waiting for her to cry or whimper. "Talk bitch!" This time his fist connected with her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. The beam holding her jerked perilously.

* * *

"Think ya can take this farm!? Think ya can shoot and my boys!?" Daryl yelled as he punched the bandaged and bloody boy in the shed and the farm. "Think ya'll can take _**my girl**_!"

He'd asked the boy about the things that Rick and Shane needed to know first, hitting him to get and answers that the young man wouldn't give. He knew he needed to get those out of the way first: How many men? What weapons? Women? Children? He needed him conscious and there was no guarantee that he would be once he questioned him about his women.

Piper would kill them all…if she was able to. She was, after all, just a woman; a strong, wild woman…but a beautiful woman. He knew all too well what men like this would do with a woman like her; something that he was infinitely reminded of when Randall chocked out the story about the two teenage girls in the woods. His jaw tightened and he planted his firm fist clean into the side of the boy's face, blood pouring from his eye.

"The girl: Piper. Where'd they take her?" He ground out, grabbing the man's face to make him look at him. His fingers were already bloody and dirty from hitting the kid, smearing his own blood across his broken skin.

"Man I don't know nothing about a girl!" Randall chocked. Daryl went to raise his fist again. "OKAY! Okay man! Um…a girl…"

"Yeah, the girl yer boys took from town!" Daryl shouted. Randall seemed to think about it for a moment, his swollen bottom lip trembling. Daryl narrowed his eyes and pushed the knuckles of his other hand into the scab on his leg, causing him to scream out at the intense, piercing pain. "Talk boy!"

"The girl…" He gasped out.

"Piper." Daryl growled.

"Piper." Randall corrected himself quickly, fear in his voice. He looked around before looking back at where Daryl's angry hard face had gotten right into his. "She pretty?"

Daryl sucked in a harsh breath before slamming the boys head into the wall behind him. He knew that it was a bad move. He didn't want to knock this little fucker unconscious when he didn't have the answers that he needed. All the same he couldn't hold the anger back. It was anger and the group, anger at himself and anger at her.

"Okay! Um…there's a place…a shed in the woods. They wouldn't take her back to the rest of the camp." He glanced at Daryl whose jaw was working back and forth, teeth grinding together perilously slow. "Wouldn't want the women and kids to see what they'll do to her."

Daryl could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he thought about the way that he had found her, raped, half dead, half closed off, rimmed in silence. "Where?" He forced out.

Randall fumbled for words and the location in his head as Daryl pulled his knife and started to slid it under the scab on the outside of his knee. "There's a mile marker off the highway! 43! About four miles into the woods there's a shack out there! That's where they would take her!"

Randall squeezed his eyes shut and he saw Daryl raise the knife and his thick muscles prepare the stab down. Daryl roared as he thrust the knife down into the ground mere millimeters from the mans leg. He grabbed his face and squeezed hard, feeling like he could pop the boys head off with his hands. "They touched her…yer dead."

"Dude you can't blame me for that! I didn't take her." He knew what these men would do to a young women with no one around; knew that it had probably already happened. "I aint like them! I wouldn't have touched her."

Daryl stood and looked down at Randall, pacing hard as he worked through everything that could have happened…everything that was going to happen. The absolute horror he was going to unleash. He couldn't hold it in.

* * *

Piper let her chin fall to her chest as she listened to the group of men outside of the shed. It sounded like six or seven of them but her head was spinning from the numerous blows and sweat rolling down her body. It mixed with the blood from her lips and eyebrows.

"Chad, Lee. Watch her. We'll be back to question her tomorrow morning. Maybe she'll be in a more complying mood." The group of men chuckled mercilessly.

"Man we don't want to stay out here!" Either Chad or Lee spoke their voices lined with exhaustion. "What if those corpses smell her blood or something in the middle of the night?"

The leader sighed loudly. "Then take her into the house at night or something. The house is secure. Swear to god you are the biggest pussy in the world."

"Speaking of pussy…" One of the other men said with laughter in his voice.

"Whatever." The leader said. "Just make sure she's ready to talk. We find that farm it wont just be her there. Guessing they've got a lot more supplies, guns…women." The whole group laughed outright this time and Piper tried not to gag.

She bit her lip as she thought about what Daryl had told her to say one hundred million times when she had first healed: _I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. I'm NOT AFRAID._

Piper gave her arms a little yank as she gritted her teeth, feeling a sharp pain shoot through her rib cage. She had at least one broken rib by the feel of it. The pain was piercing and burning all at once. Her head ached uncontrollably but she couldn't stop…wouldn't stop. She bit the inside of her cheek as she yanked again, feeling how unsteady the beam she was tied to was. It cracked and jerked when she moved, dust and splinters coming out of it.

She gave a little smirk through her pain, even as the ropes holding her wrists finally broke through skin and caused warm blood to slide down her extended arms and shoulders. This time she had a plan…it would result in the same thing as her going crazy but she was mildly proud of herself for being able to control herself well enough to actually form an idea.

She was not going to let this happen again. She had fought back when she was weak, clawing and scratching, trying to get away with all her might. She was stronger than she had been before and infinitely more vicious. There was no way that she was going to hold back. This time she would let blood flow to get away.

Piper knew all of that…and knew that she didn't have until morning.


	36. Chapter 36

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I found it so funny how there was a tie in reviews as to whether Piper should kill them all or if Daryl should come rushing in gun blazing to save her. So funny to read one review after another, switching back and forth. **

**Thank you to ****JavaNut****,**** 1111, ****Kit-cat99****, ****taj14****, ****Melanie2390****, Guest and Emberka-2012.**

**Leyshla Gisel****: Luckily most of them went back to their main camp so she only has to deal with two!**

**SaraLostInes****: I'm glad! It was meant to be scary!**

**jstarr713****: Freaking love the Kill Bill reference!**

**LadyLecter47****: Thank you for reading! Now keep reviewing! Lol. **

_**Favorite Line: "You scream for me sweetheart."**_

Chapter Thirty Six:

There was no discussion as to if anyone was going to go after her this time. Daryl told Rick and Shane the intel about the enemy, ignoring the pitiful and sad looks that Carol and some of the others gave him about the state of his hands and knuckles. He did what needed to be done, what no one else had the stomach to do.

Once he had finished he walked directly over to his bike, glancing up as he readied it to see Glenn and Rick coming over to him with their guns ready.

"We'll follow you." Rick told him solidly.

Daryl frowned. "Ain't no reason." He grumbled, sticking his gun into the worn saddle bag beside him.

"Look man," Glenn sighed, making Daryl's eyes shot up to him. He gulped and tried to find the words. "She was there for us…because we're her friends. We couldn't get to her before the truck peeled out but that doesn't mean we wanted to leave her. We want to find her."

Daryl glanced at Rick who was watching him closely. "Don't slow me down." He muttered, starting up his bike. "Mile marker 43." He called over the engine.

The road marker was about thirty minutes away by the back roads, weaving on and off the highway to avoid the pile ups. He wished that it was closer, not only so he could get there faster but because he didn't want the time on the bike to think.

He didn't know what he was going to find at the destination. Would it be like it was before? Or this time would it be a broken body, completely devoid of any life? He could see finding her like he had before but this time it wouldn't be just a stranger in the woods. It would be the first person in his life that had ever loved him.

He shook the thoughts away from his head as he sped up the bike. The only other possibility in his mind would be to find her raped again…silent, unfeeling. This time would break her, he was sure of that. She would be totally lost, more lost then she had been when she had first woken up.

Forget what he was going to do when he found her. He was furious with her and couldn't control it. He knew that she had asked him to go with her…but he was still angry with her for going at all. Then again, if they found her in either of those states Rick, Glenn and Hershal…not to mention Lori, were going to be on the receiving end of all of this. This was the second family member of his that they had left to rot. He would beat them bloody, leave them alive and then just leave. They could do their own god damned hunting and surviving.

Daryl squinted as he thought about it. He should have told her more when she asked for it. He shouldn't have held back from what she wanted…him. He should have held her at night instead of just letting her lay on him and not returning the gesture. He should have told her that he loved her more because either way he found her, he was sure that she was going to be dead inside. And he had done next to nothing that would bring her back to him.

* * *

Piper listened to the cars of the rest of the men pull away, the engines sputtering to life on fumes and skidding through the dirt. That left two men…Chad and Lee, her would be rapists. She closed her eyes and let her body go limp against the ropes for a moment, conserving her strength and working the beam above her one last time. It felt awkward with her blood hardening on her arms but she tried to ignore it as best she could. She licked her bottom lip, now cut open and swelled as she heard the door open a few minutes later.

Glancing up, she saw one of the two come into the shed and shut it behind him with a lecherous grin on his face. "Well aint you pretty…" He muttered, looking her up and down while licking his lips. "Wish they hadn't fucked up your face so much…but then again I don't really need that do I?"

Piper swallowed down, again repeated her lack of fear over and over again in her head, trying to hold onto conscious thought instead of instinctual reaction. She fought off the memories as he looked at her, willing herself past the fear and to the angry point. She wouldn't be the one bleeding this time. She wouldn't be the one trying to get away. She wasn't the victim anymore, she was the predator.

Above all else she couldn't let them torture the location of the others out of her. Daryl was there, Sophia and Carl were there, Glenn and Rick were there. She couldn't risk that something might slip out in the throes of pain.

"Aren't you going to take me down…it would be better that way." She asked quietly.

The man chuckled, pushing his greasy hair out of his face as he took a step towards her. "Oh sweetheart…you're not supposed to enjoy this." He said with a tint of sadistic pity in his voice. It took every ounce of restraint in her not to lash out and flail her legs at him as he came towards her, yanking at his belt with that disgusting smile on his face. "Now that I've gotten you to talk, let's see if I can make you scream."

The moment he grabbed onto her Piper closed her eyes and yanked her arms down as hard as she could, letting her legs go limp so the beam took her whole weight and snapped. Chunks of wood and clouds of dust and debris fell from the beam and the surrounding rafters, knocking the man and her to the ground in a heap.

Piper groped for the closest thing she could find on the work bench in desperation with both of her hands still tied and eyes clouded from the dust. She felt his hands grabbing out to stop her and kicked while laying on her back, knocking his chin forward with her boot and causing him to give a gasp of pain. Finally she found the rusty old saw and snatched it up, leaning over the man and slitting into his throat.

"You scream for me _sweetheart." _She muttered. It was so much worse feeling then when she used Daryl's knife. She could feel the teeth grabbing and mangling the skin even when she whipped it across the flesh fast.

Pulling herself away from the now dead man, she took the saw and braced it in between her knee's, cutting at the robes while trying not the knick her already bruised and torn wrists. She winced in pain but didn't stop until it was done, throwing the rope aside before hugging herself slowly and taking deep breaths. She could feel her body shaking with adrenaline and panic as what had almost happened bubbled up again.

"No…." She whispered to herself. "Come on. Snap out of it!" Tossing the saw to the side she grabbed for the lighter, sturdier machete.

She pushed herself up and winced at the intense pain in her ribs and shoulders. Her wrists were burning and raw from the rope rubbing against the open flesh and her arms now coated with two peoples blood. There was still one to go and he was sure to have heard the beam snap. Then there were more in the morning. She leaned against the wall by the door and waited for the next man to come to her.

* * *

It was dusk by the time Glenn, Rick and Daryl reached the little shack in the woods. They had come across two others but there were no sheds so they had moved on until Daryl found fresh tracks from a truck in the dirt.

Rick and Daryl signaled to each other as they came up to the boarders of the shack before Daryl looked over at Glenn pointed to his eyes and then directed his fingers over to the shed. Glenn shrugged at him blankly. "Check the fuckin shed Chinaman!" Daryl hissed out as he and Rick circled the perimeter, gun and bow raised.

The house was an old run down thing that looked like the second floor was barely staying on. It might have been someone's hunting cabin at some point but had been abandon even before the world went to hell. The paint was completely chipped off leaving it a mossy, dirty white, worn down by the elements over the years.

Daryl pushed himself to one of the windows and momentarily glanced inside onto the be distracted by Glenn gagging and vomiting in the grass beside the shed.

Both Rick and Daryl moved that way still pointing their weapons at the house just in case there was anyone inside. "What?" Daryl snapped before looking in and lowering his bow. All he could think was that it better not be Piper. Please, please don't let it be Piper. "Shiiiiit." He muttered as he and Rick stepped in.

Rick shook his head as he looked down at one of the bodies on the ground before looking up at the low ceiling. One of the bodies still had thick blood slowly oozing out of its neck, flesh torn instead of cut. Daryl pulled up a piece of frayed, sawed, blood covered rope for Rick to see.

"Looks like they had her hanging from the ceiling. He got close to her and she yanked the whole thing down on top of him and herself." The Sheriff's deputy muttered.

Daryl gave a slow nod, still looking at the rope that had held her wrists together. "She don't like being restrained…" He nearly whispered, drawing Ricks attention with how soft the words came out. Daryl cleared his throat and stood fully up looking at the other body and the ground just outside the doorway where Glenn was standing, whipping off his mouth. "Looks like she waited here til this second bastard came up ta the door. Hacked inta him when he came through fer his turn with her." He felt a bit of relief flood over him. Neither of these guys had even gotten a chance to get at her.

"She had a plan." Rick muttered. "She's probably still alive."

"Run into the woods maybe?" Glenn put in. They all knew how well Piper liked the woods.

Daryl shook his head, looking at the two bodies. Why just two? "Not at night…she don't know this area. She would have tried ta stay holed up. Where there more guys that took her?"

"Yeah a bunch." Glenn responded right away, not wanting Daryl to think that they couldn't get her away from just two men.

"We should check the rest of the house." Rick put in. "Make sure the rest of them didn't tie her up in there after this incident."

Daryl nodded, spitting down on the first body. "Should have known better bastard." He snarled. "Ya don't put a wild animal in no cage."

Glenn raised an eyebrow at him. "Dude, you've got a really weird way of showing affection."

The three of them crept back towards the house, Daryl pushing through the door with his bow raised and ready. Everything seemed quiet…too quiet. He watched as Rick signaled the different directions for them to go, searching out the first floor quickly. It was a mostly open space. Daryl and Rick pulled open the closet doors and searched while Glenn crept up the stairs.

Glenn felt his hands shaking as he inspected the first of the rooms, checking the closet and under the bed carefully. He let out a breath of relief when he found nothing and started towards the next room. Once he was just about to reach the open door he only had a split second to stop before he ran into a sharp blade shooting out. He let out a small yelp as a dirty figure stepped out.

"Piper…" He breathed as Rick and Daryl came running up the stairs. "It's okay. It's just us. We came here to…save you." Not that it really seemed like she needed it from the butchering she had done outside.

Piper starred at him for a moment before dropping the blade and looking at the two other men who rushed to the platform behind Glenn.

Her eyes locked with Daryl as his breath caught at the sight of her. One of her cheek bones was completely swollen with a small abrasion along the bone, the opposite eyebrow was open. Her lower lip was split, some of the blood dried on the top of it and her slender wrists were rubbed and cut open from her bindings…it was gruesome.

She licked her spilt lip as she looked at them. "They started it." She muttered. "I'm not a victim anymore."

Rick nodded at her comfortingly. "We can see that Piper." He confirmed as Daryl still stayed rooted to his place, unable to move.

"Daryl…" She whispered right before his arms opened slightly and she ran into them.

He wrapped a large hand around her neck, feeling the blood in her hair from being struck. "God girl." He muttered as relief flooded through him. She wasn't dead, she wasn't numb. "I'll tell ya anything. Anything ya want." He promised desperately. He squeezed his eyes shut before gripping her tighter against him, making her gasp in pain. He pulled away quickly, holding onto her bloody arms.

"Ribs." She said in a pain induced hiss. Daryl narrowed his eyes and licked his lips before yanking her shirt up to reveal the already purpling bruise forming over her left side.

"Dammit." He muttered, looking at it. "Where are the rest of them girl?" He growled, anger rising to the surface.

Piper steadied herself on him now that she knew she was safe, his large arms creating a warmth around her and just making her want to fall asleep. "They um…they went back to their main camp I think…they were going to come back in the morning to…" Her voice broke.

"Where is it?" Daryl asked forcefully, not needing for her or himself to finish that sentence. He was going to find them. He was going to murder them even more brutally than she had done to their comrades.

Piper shook her head, causing a few splinters to fall out of her hair and her head to ache even more uncontrollably. "I don't know." She told him solemnly. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he let her, even with Rick and Glenn there.

Daryl looked down at her battered face before placing a soft kiss on her forehead, too afraid that he's hurt her mangled lips. "Take her back ta the farm." He told Rick and Glenn, prying her gently away and thrusting her towards Rick.

Rick frowned at the other man as he steadied the increasingly weak girl against him. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open or the pain from overtaking her. "What are you going to do?"

"What do ya think I'm gunna do?!" Daryl snarled at the cop, taking the extra shot gun from him.

Piper frowned and pulled away from Rick's loose hold. Rick was too afraid to hold her tighter, thinking that he would hurt her more. "Daryl please don't." She begged him. "Let's just go home…please?"

Daryl glared at her for a moment before he took in her injuries quickly. He tried to hold onto the knowledge that it wasn't her he was mad at for those injuries; it wasn't her he should be harsh with. "I gotta Piper. Ya know that."

Piper widened her stance painfully. "Then I'm staying too."

Daryl took an angry step towards her, gripping her chin gently despite the harsh look on her face. "Ya need ta do what I say this time. That's what gotcha in this mess! Now go!"

Piper frowned as he looked down at her. He was trying to look at her hard, blue eyes squinting and mouth pursed into a thin line, but there was a softness inside his eyes that she couldn't help but notice. "Please…I need you." She whispered. She glanced behind her.

Daryl nodded slowly, the words stinging him. "And I'll be there in the mornin'. Go with Rick now." He watched as she slowly nodded before tilting her chin up with his knuckles. "I love ya alright?" He murmured low so that only she could hear. Rick gently took hold of her arm and pulled her away.


	37. Chapter 37

**JavaNut****: I'm sorry! I truly believe that if you are going to survive in that kind of world you need to be an animal. I know I would be! **

**ArmedWithMyComputer****: I really thought it was important for her to assert that she wasn't willing to be a victim anymore. It shows how far she's come!**

**Kit-cat99****: Of course! **

**Emberka-2012****: Heck yes! Its stupid to think that you can just take a random girl and she wont fight back.**

**Leyshla Gisel**** and ****FanFicGirl10****: Don't be scared for Daryl! He's a smart cookie!**

**Thank you for commenting to ****GatorGirl99****, ****jstarr713****, ****gurl3677****, ****euhitz****, and ****BelmontCalyx****. **

**Favorite Line: **_**"I think I got ruffied "**_

**Chapter Thirty Seven: **

Daryl paced around the house and the yard for a good thirty minutes, finding the best places to shot from. People normally parked in the same places so he had a good idea of where the truck would pull up and he could get his first shots from. He wanted to take out the leader by hand, wanted him to know why.

He pursed his lips together as he waited for morning, hoping they got there at first light. He was good at being patient while hunting. Everything else he knew he was a hot head on but hunting required him to wait and watch in the brush for his prey.

This time was harder though. Piper's words kept echoing in his head. _I need you. _He'd never heard those words from someone before and hearing them from her broken lips was heart wrenching, twisting around his gut like an anaconda. He needed to get this done fast and get back to the farm; make sure that Hershal was taking care of her right.

Shifting his weight he waited and watched, trying to think of anything besides the way she felt in his arms or the way his heart stopped when he saw her. She'd fit into him so perfectly…she always had but when she had whispered his name and run into his arms it had felt so different from anything else in his life. She could have run to Glenn or Rick but she had come to him.

He chewed on his thumb as he watched and waited until morning. The moment the first lines of the sun popped through the tree's he was rewarded by the sound of a truck making its way through the woods, the dirt and gravel giving it away.

Daryl lifted his head and ground his teeth together as he watched the white ford F350 pull up towards the run down house. Two men were sitting in the bed of the truck and there looked like there were two more in the cab. He squinted his eyes. One of the men in the cab had to be the leader….leaders didn't ride in the bed of a truck.

Taking Ricks gun he held it up in his hiding place. Fast and efficient; that's what this needed to be. He couldn't miss. He took the first shot which connected with the side of one of the men's heads in the truck bed, ducking back to avoid the retaliation shots from the other men in the truck. It was unexpected so they couldn't tell where his shot was coming from.

Pushing a new shell into the gun he glanced behind him from the tree trunk and watched as the man emerging from the passenger's seat started yelling orders. He narrowed his eyes at the man who was searching frantically for him in the woods. There was the leader…the one who had tortured his woman.

Picking out his next target he blew out the other next man's head as he walked towards him randomly. "Shit." He muttered as the last two men started shooting in his direction, ducking down to avoid the bullets flying around him. He gritted his teeth and rolled on the ground and away as one of the bullets grazed his arm. He let out hissing breath and looked at it. It was just a graze across his bicep but it still stung.

Muttering curses under his breath he rolled onto his stomach and pushed the brush out of the way with the barrel of his gun. He took the shot into the last man right across the chest as the leader ran into the closest structure, which happened to be the shed. The man flung the doors open and ran inside while still looking behind him wildly.

A string of curse words were bellowed out and Daryl smirked knowing that he had to be cursing at the dead bodies. Grabbing his cross bow from where he had hid it, he slung it over his shoulder painfully, the strap scratching his wound and made his way towards the shed quietly.

His eyebrows went up when a piercing scream came from the confines of the barn along with the distinct sound of chomping. To his utter shook, when he pulled open the door the two corpses of Pipers victims were animated and chewing on the man's leg and arm.

The man's eyes shot to him. "Help me! Please! Shoot me!" He screamed out in pain. Blood poured from his open wounds as the walkers took bits of raw meat from his body.

Daryl kept the gun on the man's head, debating for a moment before lowering it. "Shouldn't have hurt my girl." He muttered before slamming the shed door closed as the man screamed, his fleshing being torn apart by the two walkers. The man screamed and pleaded but Daryl ignored the sounds as he walked to the idling truck.

* * *

Piper was laying in one of the bed rooms when Daryl got back to the farm, fast asleep in a pain killer induced slumber. Daryl opened the door to see Hershal sitting on the bed, slowly stitching her eyebrow back together. Rick was standing on the other side of the room, watching as he leaned against the wall.

The old man looked up as Daryl took off his bow and put it down at the end of the bed, watching the vet work. "I couldn't do it while she was awake." Hershal told him. "Glenn had to put the bandages and ointment on…I still don't think she trusts me."

"Don't take it personally." Rick said with a bit of humor in his voice. "She doesn't let many people… even the ones she knows." He glanced at Daryl. "Is it done?"

"Yeah, they aint gunna be botherin' us no more." Daryl mumbled as he watched the pointy needle pass through her tender skin over and over again.

He was thinking about those walkers. He knew that they hadn't been bitten. He had been vigilant the entire night and nothing had feed on them and the door had closed.

Hershal looked up at where his arm had been grazed. "I'll look at that in a minute."

Daryl pushed the thoughts away for later use and questioning. "Aint no need…just a scratch. She gunna be okay?" He asked.

Hershal nodded as he tied off the thread in her eyebrows. "She has one broken rib but that was all of the internal damage. We treated her wrists and other contusions. Her eye was the only thing that needed stitching. It should heal up nicely."

Daryl nodded before glancing back at Rick. "There's a truck parked in the woods where my bike was. Might be useful." He muttered, eyes going back to Piper as she stirred when Hershal stood up from the side of the bed and made the weight on the mattress shift.

Rick nodded and pushed himself from the wall. "Why did she come out after us anyway?"

Daryl glared at him as Hershal left the room. "Ask yer woman." He told him in a sneer before the other man left the room.

Daryl sighed and rested his hands on the end of the bed, bowing his head down and chewing on his lip as he closed his eyes. He hadn't given himself time to think about this since he had gotten off his bike, too intense on the hunt, first for her and then the ambush of her captures.

After a few minutes he heard Pipers breathing change. Glancing up he saw her normally bright eyes open but they were clouded from the medication. "Hey." He quickly moved around the bed as she tried to sit up, wincing at the pain in her ribs. "Don't do that." He commanded, stroking her hair to make her settle.

Her eyes closed at his touch, the rough fingers making her skin tingle under the influence of the pain killers. She closed her green eyes again before pulling the heavy eyelids open again. "Don't leave?" She asked her slowly, a slight slur in her words.

Daryl nodded, glad that he knew she was still speaking. "Yer gunna be okay Piper." He murmured awkwardly, trying to comfort her and not knowing how.

Piper shook her head as she blinked her eyes quickly, each time looking like pulling them back open was a huge effort. "I don't like this…everything feels heavy. I think I got ruffied. " She could hear the own slur in her speech, trying to correct it but not being able to get her tongue working properly.

He shook his head, trying not to smile at the conclusion she came to. "It's the pain killer's girl. It'll go away."

Piper licked her bottom lip, feeling around on the cut with her tongue. "I can't defend myself like this." She muttered.

"Ya don't need ta." He told her solidly. "I'm here. I aint leaving."

Piper nodded slowly, looking at him with her huge, glazed over eyes. "You said you wouldn't come after me if I left." She reminded him.

Daryl looked at his hand as it ran through her hair. "I lied." He muttered. "Piper…those guys ya killed. Were they bit?"

Piper scrunched up her nose, making it tickle before she lifted her bandaged wrist and rubbed it with the gauze. She shook her head at him. "No…I don't think so." She muttered, trying hard to remember. They had seemed way to excited to be bit. "I don't want to talk about this." She took his hand out of her hair and tugged on him. "Lay down with me?"

"Better ta protect ya if I'm up here." He mumbled, knowing that if he lay down he might end up hurting her. She tugged on his hand again and he gave in to her and what he wanted, settling onto the bed next to her while still sitting up, leaning against the large oak headboard. She rested her head against his lap and he let his hand drift into her hair, thinking about all of those things that he knew he should have done when he had thought she might be gone again.

"Sleep now girl." He murmured huskily down to her.

She shook her head no. "I love you Daryl…" She mumbled before he felt her body relax into another drug induced sleep.

She woke again as dusk rolled in with Daryl still dozing at her side. His rough fingers played on her shoulder, drawing small circles without him really being conscious of their movements. She tilted her head up to him making him snap back into awareness. He looked down at her and let his lips twinge up at how much clearer her eyes looked.

"Ya feelin' better?" He asked quietly.

Piper frowned and took inventory of herself, feeling the pain in her face, ribs and wrists. "It hurts." She winced.

Daryl went to shift out of the bed. "I'll get Hershal fer some more of those happy pills he was givin' ya."

Piper shook her head and held him where she was. "Not yet. I want to be aware for a little while." She told him and he nodded down at her. He slipped himself down in the bed, feeling the soreness in his spine from sitting there for the day. After being up all night it had actually felt good to rest in the bed for the day.

They lay there in silence for a while, Piper shifting so that she could lay on her good side while he remained on his back. He let her trail her fingers along him, forcing past his insecurities to continue playing with her hair while her head rested on his arm. He needed to get better just like she did. Needed to learn to talk to her just like she had needed to learn not to slit people open when they reached for her.

Piper traced along the lines on Daryl's chest as his eyes fluttered open and closed. He had never let anyone do this to him. She had been the first person that he had shone those hideous lines to willingly, knowing that she needed to see them to get over her own discomfort about her own body.

"Tell me what these are from?" She finally asked him in a hushed tone. His chest twitched under her fingers, as if still not knowing how to be touched nicely. "You know everything about my scars; every bottle, every bite mark."

His head turned to her slowly, looking at her earnest face. "Ya don't want ta know these things Piper." He murmured, gripping her arm lightly. Piper licked her bottom lip, still looking at the lines that he seemed to let define him. He watched her face work without pity, wondering if his own looked the same when he was rubbing away her scars.

He let out a sigh. He had told her when he had found her he would tell her anything she wanted to know. She needed him to open up and he needed to do all of those things that he had regretted not doing on the road. It was going to be hard and it was going to be awkward but if he wanted to keep her he knew what he needed to do. "Told ya…my daddy used his fists ta show things. On occasion he used a broom handle or a bottle."

Piper considered. "What about this one?" She asked, running her fingers along a more puckered deformation.

"That'd be from a huntin accident." He murmured. Merle had been drinking and misfired. Luckily it had been a small caliber weapon.

Piper considered before tilting her head and placing a kiss on the inside of the arm she was laying on, right over the little flying demon tattoo. Her scabbing lip scratched and tickled the skin there making him shiver. She smiled to herself. "I always wanted a tattoo…I wasn't allowed to have them while I was dancing. I was going to get one when I got my first check down here."

"What were ya goin' ta get?" He asked amused. "Little pretty butterfly…barbed wire." He chuckled to himself, enjoying this conversation. "Tramp stamp?"

Piper wrinkled her nose before burying it into his arm. "I was going to get the silhouette of a bird in one of those old fashioned cages on the back of my neck."

Daryl shook his head in amusement. A bird in a cage…how many times did he have to say it to people? "Ya don't put wild animals in cages Piper." He looked down when she didn't answer, her eyes closed again in sleep. "Silent girl." He mumbled to himself before kissing the top of her head and falling to sleep himself.


	38. Chapter 38

**Last Angel in Hell****: I'm glad you're liking it! Please keep enjoying and reviewing. I think putting with someone who was just as damaged as he was if not more really showed that he's not as cold as people think he is. **

**Caffiend04****: Thank you! I'm all about the clever. **

**GypsyWitchBaby****: Stupid Lori.**

**jstarr713****: I had a Scud dream last night that totally rocked. We weren't even doing anything dirty. We were just smoking….as long as it's a Norman Reedus character I'm good with it!**

**JavaNut****: I know you didn't doll!**

**coconutcarter****: Right!? I was kind of mad that they never really dealt with that.**

**gurl3677****: You are my muse! Love you!**

**Thank you to ****Emberka-2012****, ****Leyshla Gisel and ****Kit-cat99 for reviewing!**

_**I got a PM today from someone that was complaining and telling me that my characters "suck" because I use too much imagery in my stories. I have gotten a lot of messages from people that I consider friends saying that people have been sending mean messages. I'm just going to say this….if people have a problem with a story they do not need to read it. Please think before people send messages. I know that most of you would never do this but when one person does it can ruin it for everyone. Think before you press send. There is a person on the end of that screen.**_

**Favorite Line: "Don't say nothin'."**

Chapter Thirty Eight:

When Piper woke up the next morning she could feel that she was alone in the bed this time. She had woken up once or twice during the night, feeling pain in her side and her face. Daryl had been close, holding her to him with a strong arm around her sore shoulders. Despite the pain and soreness that arched through her body, Daryl's warmth had lured her back into a comfortable sleep each time, his chest rising and falling evenly in sleep.

She sat up slowly, squinting her eyes out the window at the mid-morning sun that shined through. The patchwork quilt had been tucked tightly around her, creating a little loving cocoon for her by some red necks rough hands. A pillow had been slipped under her head right where his head had been and she couldn't help but let a little smile out at the tender action.

She rubbed her face and pulled herself slowly out of the bed, placing a hand over her ribs as she walked over to the window and looking out. Daryl and Rick were looking through a huge white truck. She closed her eyes as she tried to remember it, getting only flashing memories of being thrown into a raised truck bed after she'd been struck.

Piper turned when she heard a knock on the door to see Maggie coming in with a try of food and a small smile. "I thought you might be hungry." Maggie told her, putting the tray down on the bed.

Piper gave a little nod and sat down on the opposite side of the bed.

Maggie sat down next to the tray and looked at the girl that barely spoke. They had never really spoken. Beth had told her about the piano and the little bit that Piper had told her about her life. "Glenn…he told me how they found you. I'm sorry you went through that again." She said earnestly.

Piper nodded and looked down at the tray before her eye went to the window again. "Thank you." She said quietly before reaching out and taking a piece of the bread, experimentally taking a nimble. Maggie smiled at her sadly. "I don't like being pitied. I'm fine…I'm alive."

Maggie nodded quickly. It was probably the most she had ever heard the other woman say. "There's a shower down the hall to your right. Glenn brought some of your cloths up last night and I put a new towel in the bathroom. It will probably sting your cuts to be in there but if you want to get some of the dirt and blood off feel free." She told her before getting up.

Piper nodded as she looked at the sunny side up eggs on the plate. "Thank you…Maggie." She told her swallowing. "I really am…thankful I guess to you and your family."

Maggie smiled at her brightly before leaving the room, moving outside towards where Rick, Daryl and Glenn were pulling all of the supplies and parts they could need out of the truck. It was a gas guzzler so they didn't want to use it so much but the RV and some of the other cars could use the parts.

Daryl gave a little half grin as he reached under the front seat and found where the men had stashed Piper's hatchet and his knife. She was going to glad that she had those back…not that he would let her use them for a long time. He was going to make sure there was no use.

He glanced over through the corner of his squinted blue eyes as Maggie walked over and Glenn put his arms around her, turning away quickly. He wanted to be able to do that with Piper, he wanted to look down at her and not be afraid to smile like Glenn was no matter who was watching. He gritted his teeth at the thought.

Maggie looked over at him. "She's awake. She's eating and then I think she's going to shower."

"Good." Rick said, whipping the sweat from his forehead. He glanced over at Daryl as the man ducked his head back into the truck. "She'll feel better after that." Daryl had been tense all morning after seeing Piper all bandaged up. "You should go see her man…" He muttered to Daryl as he pulled back out of the truck with a gun he had found in the glove box.

Daryl grunted and watched as Maggie pulled Glenn away with a giant grin on the young man's face. "When I'm done." He muttered still not taking his eyes away from Maggie and Glenn. When he looked back at Rick the ex-cop was watching him closely with a small smile playing on his features. "What?" Daryl snapped.

Rick shook his head with a little laugh. The hunter obviously loved his woman. The time he had invested and his protectiveness showed it but the way he watched Glenn and Maggie showed that he was trying to figure out how to do it more. "They're cute huh?" Daryl squinted his eyes at the man, his mouth a tight line. "It's not really that hard. You just put your arms around her and let it happen."

"Don't know what the hell yer talkin' about." Daryl spat.

Rick sighed and leaned against the truck next to him. "She needs it you know." Daryl didn't look at him as he pulled a rag out and started whipping the dried blood away from the blade. "Maybe more than anyone else I've ever met…I think you need it too."

Daryl glared daggers into him. "I don't need nothin!" He said hotly, storming away and back towards the house.

Leaning against the door her heard the shower turn on and her let out a little sigh after she stepped in, followed by a hiss of pain at the water hitting her wounds. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the door before opening it slowly. The steam from the warm water was already making the mirror condense as a bit of steam to rise from around the shower curtain.

Piper tilted her head back and relaxed when she saw that it was him, though she looked a bit confused. She leaned back in and Daryl let out a slow breath before locking the door behind him.

Piper bit the good side of her lower lip when she felt the curtain being pulled back and Daryl step into the shower behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see his nervous face looking at her. "What are you-"

"Don't say nothin'." He cut her off, slipping an arm around her and bringing her closer to him as the warm water slipped down their skin. Piper leaned her head back against his chest and closed her eyes. Daryl sighed and let the hand that wasn't holding her stroking her arm, watching as the dirt and dust dislodged itself from her skin. He nudged her forward with his thigh so they were standing directly under the water, watching as the blood in her hair swirled out of the curls, onto his own chest and then down both of their bodies to the white tub floor. He leaned his head on top of hers and watched it disappear down the drain in abstract pink swirls.

Piper glanced down as one of his large arms wrapped all the way around her lower hips and the other linked over her, across her chest and onto her opposite shoulder, careful not to get anywhere near the bruising on her rib cage. Smiling slightly she linked her hands up and rubbed the dirt and sweat away from his forearm.

Daryl frowned and watched his hands work. This wasn't as bad as he thought. Once he got over the fear that she would make fun of him for holding onto her it was actually nice to hold her little body so close, to feel her back against his chest and her hands washing him off. He could feel himself starting to get hard as he pressed against her naked form and bit the inside of his cheek.

Piper closed her eyes as she felt him twitch against her, shaking her head. Of course he wanted sex. Why else would Daryl Dixon climb into the shower with her. Turning slowly in his arms she looked up at his increasingly clean face, smiling at how different it was to see him clean.

Daryl leaned his head back and let out a slow groan as she reached a bruised wrist down and took hold of him. "Piper…." He muttered, leaning his head back against the wall. This was more than enjoyable. They had sex but she had never done this to him before. He wanted it…bad but was a bit embarrassed with himself that he would be this turned on when she was still so messed up from her last attack.

He opened his eyes again as he felt her shift in his arms to crouch down. "Piper no…" He pulled her back up and stopped her.

"No?" She asked in confusion. "Daryl I'm fine. They didn't get a chance to do anything…"

"Aint about that." He told her, taking her hand as she reached for him again. He weaved his fingers through hers as she looked at him in confusion. "Aint gunna let ya do that when yer hurtin, just… wanna hold onta ya fer a bit is all." He mumbled it awkwardly, as if he didn't know what was really going on.

Piper looked up at him softly, not really knowing what to say back to that. "Okay."

Daryl gave her a little nod and pulled her back close so that her face buried in his chest and her arms found his naked sides. He continued to rack his fingers through her hair until he was satisfied that all of the blood was gone and the water coming off their bodies was clear on the ground. He reached around her and flipped the water off, continuing to hold her against him with one arm.

Piper went to step out of the shower but he stopped her. "There's something I gotta tell ya." He muttered quietly now that the shower was over and her muscles seemed to be relaxed. She looked at him questioningly and he licked his lips. He had wanted to tell her about the men she killed coming back but this second, the way she was looking at him….he'd tell her later. He'd talk to Rick about it first.

Piper raised her eyebrow when he didn't continue right away, wincing at the pull on her stitches from the movement. "What?" She asked him quietly.

Daryl shook his head, sending little droplets of water around him. He bent down and pressed his lips as gently as he could against the un split side of her lips. "Ima be better…bout this kinda stuff. When its just ya and me anyway." He told her.

Piper smiled slightly, knowing that it at least felt awkward. "You're already doing a good job." She told him, pressing her hands against his chest.

"One condition though." He told her. "Ya aint gunna go running off unless I tell ya ta anymore."

Piper sighed before nodding. "Okay." She agreed. This was too good not to give up anything for.

"And when I say don't go….ya don't fuckin' go."

"Daryl…." She protested, not sure if giving up her free will was really something she wanted to do.

He gripped her tighter to him. "Aint gunna lose ya." He told her firmly.

Piper watched the spark in his eyes as he said it, the way his lip curled. He was scared…shitless of losing her. "Okay." She said quietly, unable to deny the sharp spark of emotion. "Okay…you won't."

Daryl gave a curt nod and lifted her chin. "And when yer healed up a bit more yer gunna grip onta me like that again." He muttered with a twinge of his lips.

Piper nodded and looked down in between them again. "Okay." She slipped her hand down and watched him jump, slapping her away with a scowl.

"Said when yer better!" He chuckled, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her so that he wouldn't be as tempted.


	39. Chapter 39

**Sorry for the delay everyone. It's been a crazy couple of days and I've got a little bit of writers block.**

**gurl3677: You know I love you twin!**

**Kit-cat99 and jstarr713: Yeah I think he is learning how to let her in and it not just being about healing her. In an interview Norman said that he was playing Daryl as a virgin but then amended it to not meaning sexually. Its more like he's a virgin when it comes to dealing with emotions and being connected to another person so I'm trying to make him get over that.**

**ArmedWithMyComputer: Meh…some people just cant stop themselves from being mean. Its cool though!**

**Last Angel in Hell: They really do keep each others animal sides in check.**

**Jenn: I'm sorry! No its not the PMers. Just writers block, doctors appointments and my birthday!**

**Grimmgirl18: Thank you and I am glad you're enjoying it!**

**Leyshla Gisel: I would tease that man so much!**

**merisoo: Thank you so much for your raving review! I love Piper and really had a good time developing her into what she has become. I think Daryl is the perfect person to help her because he knows what its like to be torn to shreds.**

**Thank you to Emberka-2012, LadyLecter47, Guest, piratejessieswaby, JavaNut, vexingvixen7 and GatorGirl99.**

**Favorite**** Line: "I like making you happy. You might just want to accept that right here and now.**

**Chapter Thirty Nine:**

Shane watched across the camp as Rick talked to Lori in an angry voice. He couldn't pick up everything that was said but he could definitely pick up several words and phrases when they were said.

"Young woman!"

"She could have died!"

"What were you thinking?"

"I don't care!"

"Just a young girl!"

It was clear that he was aggravated that Lori had enabled Piper to come after them. He should have been happy that Lori had sent her. From what he had said when they returned to camp, Piper distracting the other members of the group was one of the only reasons why they had been able to get out alive.

Shane shook his head. That girl was dangerous. She not only was a killer but was causing strain on the other members of the group when they began to care about her. Glenn, Rick and Daryl should have never gone after her, they should have left her to the inevitable fate. Rick had brought her back and hadn't said a word as he half carried her up the stairs to Hershal. Daryl, their biggest food source and one of the best with weapons and fighting was constantly in that room with her instead of doing what he should be doing: providing for them.

* * *

The room was starting to get cramped from all of the time Piper had to spend in it. Daryl wouldn't let her out until he was sure that her ribs were healed. Apparently to him, her being healed was that there was absolutely no bruising whatsoever.

For the next week the other members of the group continued to filter in and out of the room. Beth and Sophia stayed with her most of the day trying to entertain her. It was funny how they did it. They would laugh and tell stories making Pipers lips twitch up.

Daryl did his best to stay out of the room when the girls were in there but he watched, peeking in from the doorway from time to time from under his eyebrows, trying to pretend that he was just walking by. The other girls didn't know but he could see Pipers green eyes glance up at him every time he did, a small smile appearing on her face at the sight of him.

He would return to the room after the girls had left for the night, leaving his fire burning at the embers in the little camp he had moved their tent to. He still wasn't happy about her being left behind; wasn't sure if he wanted her sleeping near the others with the way that Shane was brooding around violently.

When he came into the room most of the time she would be waiting for him, looking bored. Sometimes she was asleep and he would sneak in as quietly as he could and wrap himself around her while he was sure he was asleep. He'd run his fingers through her hair and watch her face calmly as she slept.

At the end of the first week he frowned and stopped as he passed the room, watching as Piper spun around in a graceful pirouette. Her eyes were centered on the frame of the door to spot herself, catching him as she turned over and over again, hair whipping around as she showed the girls how to turn.

Her eyes locked with his as she stopped. "And that is how you turn without losing your balance." She told Beth and Sophia, who were grinning broadly and clapping. She smiled slightly to herself as he glanced down and then back up at her. "Eye contact."

Daryl licked his lips and leaned against the door frame. "Feelin' good?" He asked her. Piper nodded and lifted the shirt, showing him the now yellow bruise over her ribs, signaling that she was healing. "Wanna walk?"

"More than life itself." Piper told him with a large smile on her face. Daryl nodded her out of the door and she hurried out without looking back at her two students.

They walked out of the house and past the camp together with Daryl watching her out of the corner of his eye. He was trying to make sure that she was walking alright. His eyes were drawn behind her to where Shane was watching them with hard brown eyes. He frowned as he saw the man focus his line of sight on Piper, analyzing for weakness. Piper didn't show any but he knew that the man wouldn't take that as his answer.

Daryl squinted at him before reaching down as they walking and taking her tiny hand in his, pulling her closer and locking his fingers around her smaller ones. It felt awkward. They had never done this before; he hand never bothered with anyone else but he had seen other men and women walking like this.

Piper looked down at the clasped hands, confused for a moment before glancing up and seeing his face looking at them too in his own state of awkward confusion.

She gave his hand a little squeeze, drawing his attention back to her face as they walked. "It's okay." She told him. "It's nice."

Daryl nodded and pulled her a little bit closer to him as they walked towards the woods, using his other hand to hold his crossbow to his shoulder.

Piper smiled as she breathed in the fresh air, letting her eyes drift closed as she savored the feel of it and let her lover lead her. The forest smelled nice…like a clean sort of nature. She loved it out here. She belonged out here now, not in a closed room with just a window peeking out into the natural world. She had spent her entire life in that. This harsh change in the world had drawn her out and into what she was always supposed to be. She was a new animal…a different breed.

Daryl glanced down at her with a small smirk playing on his face at the ease with which she was moving, even with her eyes closed. "Girl?" He asked, stopping their walk in a group of tightly knit trees. She opened her bright eyes to look over at him. "Ya alright girl?"

Piper nodded quickly. "I'm great." She breathed before wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him.

Daryl sighed and rested his arms around her shoulders. "Ya turned into kinda a toucher." He grumbled into her hair.

"Only with you." Piper mumbled into his chest, tightening her arms around him.

Daryl actually found himself smiling at the words. He pulled her tighter against him now, taking a bit of comfort in the fact that for the moment it was only she and himself. "Ya need ta be careful Piper." He muttered making her look up at him. "Ya don't know what happens ta me when yer gone on a rampage."

Piper let her hands rung along his chest as she watched his face trying to hold onto its serious expression even as he said something loving. He looked like he was threatening her instead of telling her that he needed her there. "What? You miss me when I'm gone Daryl?"

He squinted down at her, trying to figure out if she was mocking him or being serious. "I go crazy when shit happens ta ya." He grumbled, gripping her arms tight to prove his point.

Piper nodded. "Me too." She muttered, before pushing herself up on her toes and kissing him, his arms instantly found their designated spot around her waist as he prodded her to open her mouth. He slipped his tongue inside the confines, twisting and weaving with hers in a lazy rhythm as they made out in the woods. Her fingers gripped into his shirt before slipping down to undo his belt and the buttons of his jeans.

Daryl pulled away with a little sly grin. "Ya can't just kiss can ya?" He murmured as her hands slipped under the scratchy jean and took hold of him.

"Not with you." She told him with a little minx-like smile of her own. She bit her lip as she dropped to her knees in front of him. "I'm feeling better." She whispered.

Daryl let out a groan as he felt her full mouth latch onto the head of him and twist her tongue around. "Ya don't need ta do this." He ground out, trying to keep his legs from buckling.

Piper released his head and smiled up at him. "I know." She murmured before sliding him fully into her mouth and running her tongue along him.

"Shit." He moaned as his hands tangled in her hair. He tilted his head back and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that if he watched her it would be over far too quickly. He shivered as he felt her slid her mouth up and down him, while he guided her with a gently tug in her hair. Her mouth was so warm, wet, tight…he felt his knees threatening to give out. "Christ…I gotta sit." He muttered, pulling her away and trying to ignore the very smug look on her face at being able to unravel him.

He pulled her to one of the trees with him and sat against it. Before he could pull her to take off her own jeans Piper dove back down to him. He groaned and gritted his teeth, both of his hands tangled into her hair as she brought him closer and closer with little moves of her mouth and tongue. Her hands rested on his thighs as she stocked him faster and faster.

Piper inwardly smiled at the noises she was pulling from him: moans, gasps, groans and curses with her name mixed into them. She felt powerful doing this to him; maybe even more powerful then she had when she killed. It was amazing that she could do this to him. Not even to bring him to the edge… turning someone on was easy but being able to be the one to turn him from an angry, vengeful hunter to a man who held her tight as they slept and whispered that he loved her. It was all heady and powerful.

Daryl felt himself losing it and couldn't help but lean his head down to watch as she continued to suck at him, drawing one hand to pump at the base of him while her mouth moved and applies suction. "Ya gotta stop…" He groaned out, knowing that he was close. "Piper!" She didn't stop though and he slammed his head back into the trunk of the tree. "I'm gunna cum in yer mouth if ya don't stop!" He hissed as he felt a tingling sensation start up his shaft. "Fuck!"

Piper moved faster and harder, silently telling him that was what she wanted. She flicked her tongue over his tip before taking him deep quickly, feeling him pour down her throat as he panted and gripped her hair hard to keep her there while he finished.

His grip finally loosened and he dropped his arms to the sides of himself, still gasping for breath as she unlatched from him and whipped off her mouth. "Shit Piper." He muttered through his labored breaths. He angled his hips up awkwardly so that he could pull his worn old pants up his legs before pulling her up to him so that she was sitting in his lap. "The things ya do ta me girl…" He muttered, burying his face in her shoulder.

Piper smiled slightly and nestled into him. "I like doing it Daryl…" She muttered, taking his face in her hands and looking at him seriously. "I like making you happy. You might just want to accept that right here and now."

Daryl looked at her in shock for a moment, gulping down the fact that he didn't think anyone else had ever wanted that for him. "Ya do." He muttered, holding her tight.

* * *

Everyone sat around the camp fire for supper, munching on squirrel, potato's and some of the eggs that Maggie had brought them. Piper watched everyone talking and smiling as they took relief in the little bit of safety that they felt. She glanced at Daryl whose eyes were centered on his plate, glancing up from time to time across the fire at either Rick or Shane. She couldn't tell who.

She bumped his knee playfully with hers to get his attention. He glanced over at her and let his lips twinge up at the serious face she was giving him. "I want to move back to the tent with you tonight." She told him quietly.

"What Hershal say bout it?" He muttered back, equally as quietly.

Piper shrugged. "No strenuous activity but I'm healing nicely."

Daryl grunted. He couldn't deny that he wanted her back in the tent, sleeping next to him in the space that they both felt comfortable in. "Guess teachin dance ta them girls kinda went against that." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Piper scoffed and bit her lip, leaning a bit more into him so that they could speak more quietly. "I'm guessing what we did in the woods today would to but you didn't stop me from that." She laughed as he narrowed his eyes at her, lips a tight line of protest.

"Piper." They both looked up to see Shane watching them closely. "Look, I wanted to talk to you…in private if that's alright?" He muttered.

Daryl looked at him sharply, his hand sliding to where Piper's was on the ground behind her and gripping. "What for?" He spat a small bone in the grass next to him, trying to look as threatening as he could.

Shane sighed and rubbed the back of his head, searching for the best lie. "Just wanted to talk to her about the way I've been acting." He fringed his unauthentic apology face. If he was going to get at the girl…convince her to leave or get her out of the way somehow, there was no way that Daryl Dixon could be there.

Piper felt Daryl's fingers tighten on hers. She didn't need to be told. "No thanks." She said off handedly, completely ignoring the olive branch he might have been trying to offer. She looked back at Daryl. "I'm going to go to bed." She told him with a little smile, before standing up, giving Sophia a quick kiss on top of the head and heading out to where Daryl had moved the tent. She was excited about being able to "Go back home" with him and sleep in the blankets that smelled like their combine scent.

Daryl kept his eyes locked with Shane as she left. "Right behind ya." He said after her, making sure that Shane heard.


	40. Chapter 40

_tatyasdias: Your spelling was great! Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you are continuing to enjoy this fic._

_Limaro: lol. Don't worry this couple will never be sunshine and rainbows!_

_merisoo: Haha! That was all for you!_

_Kit-cat99: Lol I don't think that he really gets what she is capable of._

_Last Angel in Hell: Honestly I think that he was watching out for the people that he loved during the show even if he did it wrong. If he could just let go of Piper being the enemy I think that their mutual Crazy would help each other._

_gurl3677: As always thank you and Love you!_

_Leyshla Gisel and JetNova : Tehehehe. We'd all be naughty for Daryl!_

_Thank you to HerAngrierGnome, Melanie, x XRoweenaJAugustineX x, sdwafford, Emberka-2012, vexingvixen7, GypsyWitchBaby, SaraLostInes, JavaNut and piratejessieswaby for reviewing!_

_Just so everyone knows the answer that Daryl gives Piper in this chapter is one that Norman gave during the Canadian Fanexpo._

**Favorite Line: "Ya do what ya gotta do. Ya survive at any cost."**

Chapter Forty:

Daryl lay over Piper in the tent, hands running over her skin so that he had something to focus on then the things that he was admitting to in their five minutes a night time. "I don't know what ta tell ya tonight." He murmured, finding the soft plain of her body more of a distraction then a help.

Piper smiled up at him, running her fingers along his broad shoulders. "Okay…I'll ask you a question then and you can either pass on it or tell me what the answer." He nodded quickly. "But you can't keep passing until the five minutes are up! You have to answer at some point!"

Daryl gave a half scowl at her figuring out his plan so quickly. "Fine." He grumbled, trying to retain his displeasure with her huge green eyes looking up at him so lovingly.

Piper closed her eyes as she thought about things she wanted to know. She felt like she knew him already so well. They had been doing this for weeks. She knew where he grew up, what his favorite things were, what his family was like for better or worse. She knew why he didn't like to be touched.

"Why are you so different then your brother?" She finally asked him quietly. She knew that Merle was always a sore subject but she wanted to know. Daryl and Merle were nothing alike. Daryl hated drugs and he wasn't nearly as racist as Merle had been.

Daryl frowned as he looked down at her. "Whatcha mean?"

Piper bit her lip as she thought how to explain it without offending him or putting down his brother too much. "You're just…you're not a druggie. You take care of people. I've never seen you hit a woman and you've never treated me like just a piece of ass."

Daryl pressed his lips together as he looked her over again, his eyes running down from her eyes all the way along her body. "Cause ya aint a whore." He muttered. "Merle and my daddy were a lot more alike than me and any of 'em. I been around that shit my whole life. Didn't like it." He told her.

"So you just didn't do it." Piper muttered, grasping at understanding.

He nodded. "They weren't ta happy 'bout it. Thought not bein' those things made me a pansy."

Piper frowned as his face went from angry to hurt when he spoke about it. She loved the man that he was. All of him. Even those flaws that made it hard to get through to him. They were what had helped him understand her and had drawn him to her. They were part of the reason why she knew that she could trust him in the beginning. "Have I told you that I love you today?" She asked him, drawing his squinting blue eyes back to hers.

Daryl gave a little snort. "Think blowin' me in the woods kinda did that for ya girl." He joked in his usual gruff manner.

Piper shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulling him down to kiss her. "Well I do." She whispered just before their lips connected. She ran her fingers over his rough facial hair as they kissed, tongues slowly circling around each other. "Even without the mind blowing sex." She was cut off by him kissing her hard again groaning at the statement. "Or the protectiveness."

Daryl frowned and pulled away slightly. "Protectiveness…" He muttered pursing his lips. "We need ta talk bout that mother fucker."

Piper quirked an eyebrow at the sudden shift in conversation. "Which mother fucker?"

Daryl growled the name. "Shane." He looked down at her closely. Her tiny body was just a deceptive device for her strength but he still didn't like the idea that that man could over power her if given the chance. "Don't be alone with him…ever. Ya got me?"

Piper nodded. She had no intention of being alone with that man. He was leaving the reservation quickly. She knew the look that he got in his eye. She had felt it herself, stirring in her stomach before she let loose. "And if he manages to get me alone?" She asked him quietly.

Daryl felt his heart rate picking up at the thought of it. He remembered the way that Shane's eyes had followed her as they went into the woods earlier that day, the way he stared at her across the fire at dinner, like he was tracking her.

Piper watched his eyes squinting and shifting as he thought. Daryl thought different then she had ever seen a person think. When he wasn't angry every word was thought out before being said, giving when he spoke meaning and heavy weight. "Daryl?"

He looked back down at his little wild animal. His consort. The more innocent brighter version of himself that he had helped to mold into existence. "Ya do what ya gotta do. Ya survive at any cost." He muttered finally. He couldn't loss her.

* * *

Shane watched Piper chasing the kids around the yard. She was fast, strong… observant. He was still sure that if need be he could block her or overpower her. She was still small. He didn't know how she had managed to survive any of the fights that she got into.

Daryl didn't need to be the one watching her. Piper was well aware of everything. Every time he moved to get closer to her she slipped in with either the kids or within hearing distance of one of the other members of the group.

She didn't even try to hide that she was doing it. She would lock eyes with him and walk over to them. If it was Daryl she would run her slender hand up his arm and he would instantly lock onto Shane as well. The hunters large, dirty hand wrapped around her tensed shoulder or his thumb would run over her hair as he watched the other man, signaling his ownership and threat.

If it was another member she would just eye him with suspicion, the look on her face semi smug…semi curious. Piper wanted to know what he wanted from her…wanted to figure out what he wanted. She knew that she couldn't keep running from the confrontation forever but she had promised Daryl that she couldn't let herself be cornered by the man.

Shane frowned as he watched her. He had thought that she would be alone more. She was always alone but when he went looking for her, he found it hard to find where she had gone. She would slip into the deep of the woods to hunt or into the fields tall grass to relax.

Finally he had enough. The heat of the sun was pushing most people into their tents or the house but he could see the girl going to collect eggs for Maggie. Daryl was out hunting, his constantly aware eyes gone and unable to help her.

She was walking with that normal towards the hen house with a woven basket in her hands. The burning sun was shimming over her shoulder, nearly blinding him as his eyes followed her. Glancing around Shane smirk to himself when he saw that the only person out was Glenn, keeping watch in the other direction on top of the RV.

He smirked to himself and went and followed her, Piper's back turned to him.

Glenn looked around, squinting as he tried to find his hat to shield his scalp from the sun. He frowned as he caught two figures moving in the grass, one walking on air, one stalking. "Shit…" He muttered as he looked around trying to find Rick or Daryl.

Piper slipped into the hen house with a slight small at the cool air and the shade. She could feel herself becoming sun burnt, the heat radiating off her skin and into the air around her. She took a breath and looked around to the coops set around the room.

She put the basket down and began to pick up some of the eggs, soothing the restless chickens with calm words of thanks. She heard the door open behind her, assuming it was Daryl from the wordless entrance.

She smiled to herself as the door closed, waiting to feel his strong arms around her, covered in salt from his day out in the woods. "Come on Daryl…I'm helping Maggie."

"We need to talk."

Piper spun around, instantly on alert at the sound of Shane's voice and the sight of him blocking the door.

* * *

Daryl tossed the squirrels over a branch as he came back to his camp sight, frowning when he saw that Carol was looking around and that there was no sign of Piper. "Whatcha doin' up here?" He muttered, pulling his cross bow off his shoulder.

"Watching out for you." Carol told him.

"That so?" Daryl grumbled. He frowned, not focusing on her when he saw Piper's hatchet and his knife resting against one of the logs. He was hot and tired from his day out hunting. He didn't want anyone up here in their personal space. All he wanted to do was lay in the tent with his woman's soft skin and silence.

Carol shifted as she watched him. "You and Piper should move back to camp…with the rest of the group."

Daryl shook his head. "We're well enough here." He told her. He liked it up here. It was quiet, peaceful, no one bothered them. He didn't have to deal with constant chatter. He got Piper all to himself and knew that she was safe.

"You both act like you're not part of the group. That you don't care." Carol murmured.

"Cause we don't." He shot back, annoyed.

"You cared enough to look for my daughter." Carol protested. "And I know that Piper loves the children." Daryl was frowning and starring at Pipers weapons. "Its good for her….good for both of you. Don't pretend not to care Daryl!"

His eyes shot to her. "Her. I give a shit about her! What's yer problem anyway lady?! We fuckin stayed here after she got left. Aint that enough?"

"She's not the only one who cares about you." Carol told him quietly.

Daryl squinted and took a step closer to her. "Didn't see ya'll out there lookin fer me." He muttered. "Just see ya pestering me. Naggin' at me fer doin' what needs ta be done."

"Daryl…" Carol pleaded.

"Daryl!" They both turned to see Glenn running as fast as he could towards the camp site. "Daryl! Its Piper….Shane was following her." He gasped out, resting his hands on his knees and he strove for breaths.

Daryl tensed up instantly. "Where?" He asked him angrily.

Glenn breathed heavily. "The…hen…house. I think he had his gun."

"Shit." Daryl muttered, taking off down the hill with Carol and Glenn at his back. He didn't want her cornered, not just for her safety but for that of the group. No one wanted her threatened. She would take care of it…in her way: a way that would not end well.


	41. Chapter 41

**merisoo****: Honestly I was happy they at least had Dale in conflict with Shane during the show but I would have liked to see someone else taking him on. Daryl knew but I would have liked to see them conflict a bit more. Someone should have called him out more. But they were all too focused on being nice! **

**Guest: I really think that he needs control and he hates that he can't control Piper. I'm sure part of him hates that Daryl can. **

**Leyshla Gisel****: She really isn't a threat unless she feels trapped…he's just too extroverted when it comes to her. Too much testosterone.**

**Kit-cat99****: Shout out to you in this chapter for one of your past reviews….lets see if you can find it! **

**coconutcarter****: Daryl is finally starting to realize that people count on him and that they love him and that makes him a "real" man. Norman talked about it during an interview. **

**DestielJunkie****: Seriously!**

**Thank you to ****JavaNut****, ****Last Angel in Hell****, ****piratejessieswaby****, ****Emberka-2012****, ****GypsyWitchBaby****, ****gaarsaku4ever****, ****Melanie, ****jstarr713**** and ****JetNova**** for all reviewing!**

_**Everyone needs to check out my Twin **__**gurl3677**__**'s story "I Need You." I can tell that its going to be really interesting and that she is an awesome writer. If you haven't checked it out please do! You will not be disappointed! **_

_**Favorite Line: "I know that I'm a whole new kind of ani**__**mal…and you know what Shane? I like it."**_

Chapter Forty One:

Shane watched as Piper's dilated green eyes darted around the shadowy coop, searching for a way out. There was no escape. She had backed herself into a corner and they both knew it.

"We need to talk girl." Shane told her solidly.

Piper eyed the gun that was sticking out of the front side of his cargo pants. She shifted on her feet, twisting her neck as she looked at it and then slowly up at his face. "You need to leave Shane." She warned in an almost whisper.

Shane frowned and looked at her. "Why? Cause you'll do to me that you did to that guy? And the guys who took you? No. We need to get this out in the open."

Piper struggled to maintain her control as a feeling of claustrophobia hit her, stifling her mind. She was trapped; she hated being trapped. She could see the sun light coming through some of the boards, just as it had done in the shed, promising that there was still a world outside of it, full of life and possibilities if she could just get to it. She bit her lip and tried to maintain some sort of awareness. "Then talk…quickly." The longer they stayed in here, the more threatened she was going to feel and the more danger they would both be in.

Shane eyed her closely, taking in how demonic she looked with her large eyes so dilated with black, shoulders shifting through the thin veil of sun-stained skin. "We both know what you are Piper." He muttered. "What you can do…what you are doing to the people in this camp."

"What's that?" She asked quietly. She stepped backward quickly as he took a step closer, her dark eyes narrowing and danger flooding into them in a way that Daryl seemed to be the only one to recognize.

Shane shook his head and stopped when he saw her muscles tense, taunt and cat like. "I don't know why they let some…_thing_ like you around those kids after what you've done. Rick should have been happy when you got taken…not been pissed at Lori for sending you. You're tarring this camp apart. Tarring this family apart."

Piper frowned as she looked at him. "Isn't that what you want…so you can have Lori for yourself?" He clenched his jaw, starring at her in surprise. "I'm not stupid Shane. I see the way you look at her…how you tried to get Rick out of the way."

Shane shook his head. "Aint just about that. Daryl should be watching out for the group. Not spending his time playing devoted_ boyfriend_ with you. You should have never come back. Not the first time when you ran off into the woods. Not when you were taken. You should have died that day the red neck found you."

Piper frowned as they circled each other in the small space, feet moving carefully as they gauged each other. She couldn't make a run for the door, not without him drawing his gun and shooting. His words cut through her consciousness. Part of her had died that day…but Daryl had helped her be reborn into something stronger, faster…more suited for this world.

"But I didn't die." She told him. "I'm here and there is nothing you can do about that if you don't want to be exposed for the animal that you are."

Shane let out a horse laugh. "YOU? Calling ME an animal? Is that supposed to be one of your sick jokes?"

Piper bit her lower lips as she looked at him. "At least I know what I am. I'm not justifying myself under some pretense of being the hero." She told him, sure and confident.

They had come to a full circle by now and Shane stopped to glare at her with hard brown eyes. "Everyone else seems to think so…Carol for bringing her daughter back, Rick for you being reckless, Daryl for thinking that he brought you back from the dead."

Piper frowned at him as his words came out as an insult. "I'm no hero. I just survive." _Through any means, _Daryl's voice echoed through her head. "I know that I'm a whole new kind of animal…and you know what Shane? I _like_ it." She leaned forward and hissed the last part at him, making his eyes widen.

Shane frowned. He hadn't expected that. All this time he had just assumed that she thought that she was normal…that what she did was sane and right. He had never thought that she knew how she was…that the insanity that seemed to grip her was part of who she was. "You need to leave." He told her firmly. "For all of our good."

"For all you're good?" Piper muttered, frowning at him. "Why? So it would be easier for you to sabotage Rick? So that you have Daryl as your dog and be commanded? So that you can take Carl as your own son? Fuck you Shane. _ I'd_ be a better father to that child than you would." She watched as he practically shook with anger at the words, the veins in his neck twitching. "I'm not going anywhere. This is my home. Those people are my friends. Daryl is my family."

Shane gritted his teeth as he watched the girl's dark eyes focusing so intently on him. He hated those big eyes…he had always thought they held some creepy darkness that he couldn't get through to. He couldn't deny that the hunter was right about one thing: She had come back from the dead…a more dangerous breed then a walker could ever be.

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that." He muttered, shifting his hand to his gun.

Piper narrowed her large eyes at him and took a step back, placing her hand right into one of the nests and feeling the spherical shape. "If you kill me, they'll all know what kind of man you are." She reminded him. She was trying hard to keep the taunt out of her voice but even she could feel it slip through her lips.

Shane raised his gun at her. "What are you talking about _Girl?_" He taunted with the name that they had all called her for over a month. Piper frowned at him, trying to hold onto rational thought as she saw the metallic barrel of his weapon trained on her. "I came in here to apologize and you went crazy again…bat shit insane. Because that's just what you are."

Both of their attention was drawn by the door opening to their side, their brown and green eyes squinting to try and adjust to the sunlight pouring in.

"She's not going insane Shane." Carl's voice came.

Piper took a deep, shaky breath at the sight of Carl and Sophia standing in the doorway, starring at them. Sophia looked terrified but Carl looked determine. These were the children of the apocalypse. They saw things that they shouldn't but all the same neither of the adults wanted them to see this.

"Carl…Sophia." Piper murmured, locking her eyes back on Shane who had not lowered his weapon. In fact his hand seemed even tighter on it. "Go outside…now." She turned the egg over and over in her hand as Shane glanced at her.

"Shane." Carl said, his voice full of determination. "She doesn't have to leave. She's not crazy."

Shane frowned as he continued to look at Piper's wild face, the way her muscles were fighting to relax from their tensed position so that she wouldn't scare the children she played with on an almost daily basis. "Go back to the camp Carl." He commanded, his eyes locking with Piper as she starred at him hard. They both had a plan…and neither of them wanted the kids to see either of them.

"But we love her!" Sophia whispered.

Piper closed her eyes for a split second, taking in the little voice and the little words that always meant so much. "Go guys. I'll see you around." She told them. "GO!"

Carl and Sophia scurried from the door way at the intensity of Pipers voice. The old boards swung shut behind them.

Shane frowned at her and flipped the latch into place so that there wouldn't be any more interruptions. "You're never going to see those kids again." He told her calmly.

* * *

Rick looked up from his tent as he saw Daryl, Glenn and Carol running past the camp, standing up to get a better look at them. "What's going on?" He yelled after them.

Daryl didn't bother to turn, to intent on getting to the chicken coop where he was sure his woman was either about to die or kill someone. Glenn was a little farther behind him, screaming back to Rick something about Piper while Carol was trying to keep up with jerky steps behind them, unable to maintain a pace with them in the heat of the afternoon.

Rick chased after them, easily passing Carol and Glenn and getting right behind Daryl, though he was still having a hard time keeping up with the man in a full on sprint.

Daryl was in a whirl wind. If Shane had hurt her…if he had so much as looked at her wrong he was going to make him pay. No one hurt his girl. No one but him was allowed; he was only allowed to because he knew that she could take him down with a word too. Shane had better hope that Piper killed him before Daryl got there.

They neared the old coop and saw the figures of Carl and Sophia standing a little bit away, looking at them when they approached. Rick and Carol pulled their children to them, Carol crying and holding onto her daughter while Rick held Carl at arms-length, crouching in front of him and prodded to what was going on.

"Shane said that Piper was crazy…she's not crazy dad! She didn't do anything!" Carl told them all. Rick pushed himself up quickly and moved closer to the coop.

A loud, earth shattering scream broke into the air, splitting it and all of their ears. Daryl felt his heart stop as a gunshot sounded right after it. "Piper!" He bellowed, knowing that Pipers first choice would not be a gun so she had to be the target.

"Dammit Shane!" Rick cursed, trying to get the door open but it was locked. "Shane! Open this door!"

"Get outta the way!" Daryl growled at him as he kicked the door hard, breaking to old latch easily.

Rick looked back at the children and Carol. "Stay out here!" He commanded as Daryl pushed into the small space with Glenn and Rick behind him. Daryl let out a breath at the sight in front of him.

The gun had been forced from Shane's hand and sent flying across the room. Piper sat on top of him, pushing her knees into his chest while her vice-like fingers wrapped around his neck, chocking him hard. Shane was flailing slightly and his face, covered with egg, was turning beet red as Piper tensed hard and continued to strangle him, tightening her fingers mercilessly as she starred hard at his face.

"We have to get her off of him!" Glenn yelled, starting over to them.

Pipers wild eyes shot to him and her lip curled, practically baring her teeth at her friend. She wanted this. Her hands felt good wrapped around his neck, ending his life. She could have shot him but this was so much better. She would feel exactly when his life ended.

Daryl snorted as all three men starred in shock. "Ya wanna try; be my guest." He didn't want to stop her at this point. Shane had taken the shot…tried to kill her. He deserved her retaliation. Daryl's own anger outweighed any desire to stop her.

"Daryl!" Rick yelled at him, trying to pull Piper off Shane. Her hands latched tighter onto the other man's neck in a fit of adrenaline, muscles contracting in her back and shoulders as she pulled him with her, making Shane gag and let out a strangled sound. His face was turning from red to blue quickly. "She does this the others will kick her out!"

Daryl growled before kneeling onto the ground next to her, pushing Rick off so that she wouldn't feel anymore threatened then she already was. He looked at her face for a moment, taking in the intensity of her eyes on the man and the way she was breathing hard. "Girl." He muttered to her, receiving no response. "Piper." He murmured softly to her. She looked up at him from under her hair, her lips parted as she squeezed Shane's neck tightly. "Ya got him…we know what he did."

Piper pursed her lips as she looked down at Shane and then back to her lover. She had thrown the egg in her hand as hard as she could, shocking him as he tried to push the still warm yoke and whites out of his eyes. He had fired out blind, missing her as he bent away. She tackled him in a haze of fury and kneed him in the crotch, bringing him to the ground so that she could attack him.

"He tried to kill me." She hissed, still feeling pulsing in her nerves and muscles.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah…we know. But ya gotta let 'em go." She shook her head negative, sending curls everywhere while her pulse worked in her neck. "Yeah…ya do. We got him. Ya kill him yer gunna prove him right that yer crazy."

Piper scrunched up her face at Daryl before looking down at her captive as his eyes bulged. She gritted her teeth before she felt Daryl run his rough hand over her shoulder, gripping it in a soft squeeze. "I warned him." She muttered angrily.

"Let him go girl. Aint worth it." Daryl murmured. "I'll take care of it fer ya. Just come back ta me right now." He needed her back. "They'll make ya leave if ya finish him off."

Piper felt rage coursing through her. "He deserves it. He wants me dead…wants Rick dead."

Rick frowned. "That's not going to happen Piper." He told her.

Daryl leaned closer to her. "Ya do this yer gunna have to leave them kids, leave Rick… Leave me. Ya want that?"

Piper let his voice wash over her before gripping tighter to Shane for a moment, lifting his head and slamming it back down to the ground with a crunch. "You try and kill me again…I will kill you first." She told Shane fiercely. This was the last time that she was going to warn him. She let out a breath and relished his neck as he chocked down deep breaths of air.

Daryl grabbed Piper and yanked her away quickly as Shane regained clarity and tried to lunge at her. Rick grabbed him as Daryl pushed Piper's ridged body behind him and took the opportunity to land his fist in the man's stomach with all of the strength that he had, making Shane lurch back to the ground. Daryl spat on him in hatred, glaring at him hard.

"Get him out o' my sight." Daryl snarled, gripping his woman tight. "'Fore I kill em myself."


	42. Chapter 42

**coconutcarter: Lol everything is a weapon in Pipers hands!**

**Leyshla Gisel: Lol Piper doesn't need to be saved!**

**Kit-cat99: Lol did you get my shout out to you?**

**GypsyWitchBaby: Sadly I don't think that the rest of the group could ever throw one of their own out….no matter what he's done.**

**Thank you to: vixen, sdwafford, Guest, taj14, Emberka-2012, JavaNut**

**Favorite line: "Well of course you two would both say that. You were both screwing him at some point."**

**Chapter Forty Two:**

Daryl watched the coop door close as Rick and Glenn dragged Shane away before turning back to Piper and pulling her into his arms as tight as he could. He felt her still tensed muscles relax as she came into contact with his chest, closing her eyes and breathing in his masculine scent. It was the best thing to calm her down. It always had been. He didn't need to speak. He just needed to be there.

"You should have let me kill him." She whispered into his chest, her full lips sending puffs of warm air through the fabric and onto his enraged, heated skin.

Daryl nodded against the top of her head, his prickly goatee sticking into the soft strands. If Rick and Glenn weren't there he would have. He would have sat down and watched as she did it. They were both a little bit crazy after all…but he wanted to stay with the others too at this point. He had found a brother in Rick, one that stood with him and backed him up; one that respected him more than his own flesh and blood ever did. Still he knew that if Piper left he would go with her. He would follow her to the end of the earth if he had to.

Piper squeezed his sides slightly at his silence, praying that he wasn't angry with her for her brutality; Hoping that he didn't agree with Shane that she was a danger. "Tell me that you still love me Daryl?" She whispered, half hoping that he didn't hear the soft words.

Daryl looked down at her in shock, putting her at arms length so he could look at her beautiful face. He gave her scowl that she knew all too well by now. His eyebrows drew together, eyes narrowed and his face became even more angular. "What kinda stupid question is that Piper?" He watched as her nose wrinkled and she looked away. "Yeah…" He murmured turning her chin back up to him with his rough hand. "Still love ya girl." He knew that he always would. It didn't matter what she did or how crazy she went. He loved the way her skin felt, the wild look in her eyes when she hunted, the way she made him talk to her about things he had thought he would always hate to tell.

Piper looked up at him, thinking something completely different. In the time that they had known each other they had always been able to read each other, communicating though silent looks and awkward touches. But they never thought the same.

She bit her lip. "I don't want to leave…" He shook his head quickly in agreement. "But maybe I should think about it."

"No." He bit out, angry with her for thinking it. "Ya know better than ta listen ta him Piper!"

She looked up at him as his fingers dug into her arms in anger. "It's not about that Daryl….you know that Rick won't be able to kill him, that the others will say to give him another chance. He's never going to trust me. He has it in his head that I am the danger…maybe I used to be but I'm not anymore. I guess I am only to him and he knows that. He'll keep coming until one of us is dead…or both of us."

Daryl squinted his eyes. "They aint gunna let this stand. Dontcha worry bout that." He had faith that the group would come to the right decision; that Rick, who had become like a brother to both Piper and himself would force the right out come.

* * *

Piper was sitting on the arm of the sofa, close to Daryl but still not right next to him as they watched the faces of the other members of the group. Lori and Andrea were staring at her like she was a stranger. Dale looked at her with pity in his eyes. Glenn was sitting next to her with a solemn look on his face and T-dog leaned against the wall with his head down. Carol looked distraught and kept glancing at Daryl to see his reaction. Piper gave him a little nod at the man she loved and turned Daryl's knife over and over in her hand while her other gripped the sharpening stone in the other.

Rick walked past them to stand at the front, gripping Pipers slender shoulder as he walked by, feeling the tensed state of her muscles. She put the knife away though her fingers still flexed in and out with nervous energy. She didn't like the way that Lori was glaring at her and Andrea was following her example. She actually liked Andrea, liked that she had taken a more active role and refused to be the victim anymore. Her look of distain stung.

Rick cleared his throat. "We have a problem." He told them all and Daryl resisted the urge to snort while chewing on this cuticle. "I just spoke with Carl about what her heard Shane saying to Piper."

Lori shook her head at her husband in disbelief. "He had nothing to do with this situation Rick! You shouldn't have dragged him into this!"

"He volunteered Lori." Rick muttered. "He was a witness and wanted to talk about what he heard. He wanted to back Piper up!" Rick took a deep breath as he looked over at Piper. "He was threatening that she had to leave or he wasn't going to have to get rid of her." As he murmured the last part he watched Pipers eyes drop. "Carl and Sophia went in to try and talk to him and he had his gun pointed at her. Piper didn't have a weapon. Did you sweetheart?"

Piper shook her head and looked down, sending her curls around her face to hide the embarrassment she felt that she hadn't been armed in such a dire situation. She didn't look at Daryl, knowing that he had to be a little upset that she hadn't thought about it either.

"She doesn't need a weapon." Andrea put in, leaning against the fire place. "That's what Shane is worried about. She is a weapon."

Daryl ground his teeth together as he heard it. "She aint never attacked no one here." He put in angrily.

"She attacked Rick." Lori muttered. "When Shane had Daryl."

"That was a long time ago…in a whole different situation." Rick told his wife firmly. "She's saved me a few times too, saved Sophia." He walked over and gripped Pipers shoulder tightly. "Carl told me what she said when Shane told her that she needed to leave. She said that we were her friends and family. She's mine now too."

He gave her shoulder a little squeeze and Piper put her hand over his, holding it while still not looking up. Rick smiled slightly down at her, knowing that even though she was older she had become somewhat like a little sister to him.

"This isn't about Piper and how she had to react to save her own life." Rick told the group. "This is about what we do about Shane…attacking one of our own."

A silence fell over the room and Piper could feel Glenn tense beside her. She looked over at him and watched as his hands rung together.

"We've known Shane our whole lives Rick." Lori finally said. "I don't like what he did to Piper either. I wouldn't let Carl play with her if I thought she would hurt him or any of us. But that doesn't mean that I want him to be thrown aside either."

Daryl actually snorted this time. The woman had done enough of throwing him to the side on her own.

Andrea frowned but nodded. "He's done a lot to protect this group. He saved your son too remember? He has defended our camp and taught us how to defend ourselves. We have to give him another chance. It's the right thing to do."

Piper bit her lip and glanced at the two women from under her hair before pushing it back and speaking for the first time. "Well of course you two would both say that. You were both screwing him at some point."

Andrea's face whitened, Dale gave a little half frown, half smile and Glenn put a hand to his mouth beside her, trying his best not to laugh at how easily it seemed to be for her to call people out. T-dog actually laughed out loud, not able to control himself with the comic relief. Daryl rolled his eyes at the looks of distain both Lori and Andrea sent her way. He didn't know that Andrea had slept with the fucker too but then again Piper was a woman. She would see that better than he would.

"Piper." Rick gripped tighter, drawing her attention away from the glaring women. "That's not the point here. You know better than most that the past doesn't matter."

Piper frowned as she looked up at him, taking in a deep breath. She turned to Daryl as he sucked in a deep angry breath.

"This case it does. See where the wind is blowin in here. Ya'll wanna give him a second chance that's on ya. But she aint safe. I aint gunna just be out pickin daisies when he comes in at night and slits her throat in her sleep." He was yelling by the end, voice booming with inescapable rage.

"Daryl." Rick tried to stop him. "We take a vote. Just like before."

"He stays fer his….second chance or whatever, she's leavin." Daryl said firmly. Before any of them could say a word he dragged his woman from the room. He pulled them both out onto the porch, taking deep angry breaths as she looked over to the shed where she knew Shane was being held until they figured out what to do with him.

Sighing she looked back at Daryl who was pacing fiercely. His thin lip curled as he thought. He felt unbelievably angry. He had thought that this group was a companionship of better men than he could ever hope to be. He wanted them to come to the right decision. He had promised Piper that they would. Instead he got this: quiet men hiding behind the majority or their passion-ridden others. They were broken and he wasn't going to stick around and fix them, not with the person he loved at risk.

"People suck." She muttered, drawing his attention. He gave her a little nod of agreement. "I should go pack my stuff. See if Hershal will give me a map." She muttered, running her hands through her hair and trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Daryl shook his head quickly. "They aint voted yet." He told her. "Ya don't gotta go nowhere."

Piper frowned as he tilted her face back up to his. "You know what they are going to say Daryl…I know you do." He gritted his teeth as her voice softened and her eyes ran over his face, as if she was taking it in for the last time. "I should have just killed him for all of your sakes…at least then you all would be safe when I was forced out."

Daryl felt his heart breaking at the words. He knew that she was right. He wanted her to be wrong but they wouldn't just throw Shane out. The worst part was that she didn't seem to understand that when he said that she was leaving, he meant that _they _were leaving: He and her; together. "Piper…" He stroked her cheek with his thumb while chocking her name out, the hoarseness of it shocking them both into silence.

Piper couldn't hold back the tear in her eye as she looked up at him. She didn't want to leave the children, she didn't want to leave her friends and she most definitely didn't want to leave the man standing in front of her. She reached up and ran her fingers along his cheek, watching them move long the familiar lines of his face as it contorted with unnamed emotion. "I love you Daryl… so much."

Daryl frowned and pulled her into him, kissing her hard as if to tell her that he was not leaving her. That none of this was really happening. He buried his tongue inside of her as her body anchored to his. Piper clutched at him feeling the intensity of the kiss, feeling him returning her words with his actions. Daryl was always full of heat, either with anger or passion. With her it was always both.

They broke apart, both panting at the sound of Lori yelling from inside the house. Daryl let out an angry breathe through his nose. "Come on." He muttered, twisting his fingers around hers. It didn't feel as awkward as the last time.

They slipped back into the house, their mutual silent presence going unnoticed by the others.

Lori was facing Rick. "I don't want Piper to leave Rick! But Shane doesn't deserve to be kicked out either. He's just trying to protect us!"

"She's not dangerous!" Dale put in. "She reacts when she thinks there is a threat!"

"She thinks that Shane is a threat!" Lori bit out.

Glenn shook his head. "Because he attacked her Lori!"

"We've voted…it's been decided." Rick told them solemnly. "Shane gets a second chance."

Piper cleared her throat, drawing all of their attention to the girl and Daryl standing behind her, still holding onto her arm like a life line as he leaned against the door frame. "Then I'm leaving." She told them all quietly before pulling away from Daryl's grasp and leaving the house again.

Carol gulped and looked at the sullen form of Daryl Dixon as he looked at the group for a moment. "Don't Daryl."

Daryl looked over the group harshly before turning and leaving the room to follow his woman.


	43. Chapter 43

**Guest and Emberka-2012: They consistently underestimate the importance of these two. I think in the show they do with Daryl too. I think Rick is the only one who really sees what they are and how important they are to the group.**

**Melanie: Awww thank you! I have been told I need to take the Piper character and place her in my own story line about the ZA. Your words warm my heart!**

**gurl3677: Endless love to you!**

**coconutcarter: She loves him but she knows that he is trying to protect her even if it means sending her away…she just doesn't get how much he needs her too.**

**: Don't worry I'm not. Carol loves Piper too because she helped find her daughter.**

**Limaro: I know right! I would have just put my foot down right then and been like "None of this is your call". But don't worry. When shit hits the fan and Bodies need to fall who is going to be there taking care of it besides Piper and Daryl.**

**Kit-cat99: Lol yes! It was the "You wanna stop her, be my guest. Nice knowing you" comment.**

**Thank you to SaraLostInes, GypsyWitchBaby, DestielJunkie, JavaNut, Leyshla Gisel, jstarr713, x XRoweenaJAugustineX x, and piratejessieswaby for reviewing!**

**Couldn't figure out my fav line. Tell you yours!**

**Chapter Forty Three:**

Piper sighed as she took one last look around the tent and checked to make sure she had gotten everything that she needed that she could carry easily. She sat back and ran her hands over her face, trying to hold back the sobs at the idea of leaving. She knew that she had to leave if she wanted to live. Shane wouldn't stop, both she and Daryl had acknowledged that.

She could feel her heart breaking even as she sat alone and packed. Daryl had gone back into the house after watching her for a few minutes. She didn't know what he was doing but it seemed he was unable to look at her again, knowing that she had to leave. She respected him in an odd way. She knew that he loved her. She believed it whole heartedly even now. He just wanted her to live even if he couldn't be there...even if they couldn't be together. She wasn't going to ask him to come with her. This was his home, these were his people. If she went crazy without him, that was on her…not him.

She pushed her tears away as she saw the tent flap open and Rick come in. "Piper…sweetheart. You don't have to do this." He muttered as he took in the pack bag. Piper frowned and looked away. "It's not him or you."

He had told the group that when they were voting. This was about Shane being given a second chance or not. He had been sure when Daryl had said that she would have to go that it was just rage. She wouldn't leave. She loved them. The lines were hell. It was Lori, Andrea, Carol, T-dog and himself for Shane to be given a second chance…even if he did say it grudgingly. Dale and Glenn had been against it, said that Shane was the real danger and that if he was willing to turn on her to "Protect" the group, he would likely do the same to any of them.

"Rick…" Piper sighed. He was such a good hearted man, wanted to believe the best of everyone. She envied that about him. She used to be like that but now her mind automatically went to what a person was capable of. "Listen to me." She leaned forward just in case anyone outside the thin tent walls was listening. "He's going to try and kill you…" Rick shook his head but she stared at him hard. She reached out her hand and gripped his shoulder. She knew that the closeness would make him believe her. She never got this close to another human being besides Daryl. "Yes Rick…he will. I see it in his eyes, feel it when he looks at you. I know that look better than anyone. Believe me and watch your back."

Rick frowned and looked at her honest face. The truth was that no matter how many things were wrong with Piper, lying wasn't one of them. She didn't have a dishonest bone in her body. When she wanted you dead, you knew it. When she told you to be careful….well, she was serious. "He's not going to kill me Piper. We're giving him this chance to be different."

Piper shook her head at him. "He's killed before Rick…I can see it in him when he held that gun on me; I know from the way that Daryl tells me to stay away from him. Do you know what happens when you willingly kill a person Rick? Not shoot him because you have to defend yourself." Rick shook his head negative. "I do." She said softly. "It makes you feel in control, powerful. You want to do it again if you don't control yourself; if you don't find peace in that first kill like I did. He will try and take control back Rick. Believe me on that. Watch. Your. Back. Even if you don't believe me."

He licked his lips as he watched her eyes harden as she told him about the addiction. "I will." Rick assured her not knowing that else he could do to make her stay.

Piper nodded and pulled away from him. "Tell Carl thank you." She told him. "I know that he tried and he's a good boy for telling the truth, for trying to save me. He's a lot like his dad." She gave him a small smile.

Rick shook his head. "You tell him and Sophia yourself. You can't leave without saying goodbye to them. It'll break their hearts."

Piper frowned and looked down. She was feeling the heart break right now too. It was physically painful. "Okay." She whispered, rising and picking up her bag.

She stepped out of the tent to see Carol and the children by the fire. Daryl was on his bike, glancing up when she came out of their temporary home. She walked over to him first, needing to get this over with. She was already close to tears from talking to Rick. She needed to say good bye to the man she loved before she completely broke down. She didn't want his last memory to be her crying like some scared little bitch.

Daryl leaned against the bike and watched her approach, crossing his arms over his chest. "Got everything?" He murmured down to her as she stepped in between his legs and looked down at her feet.

Piper nodded and bit her lip. "I really do love you Daryl…please remember that."

Daryl quirked an eyebrow at her and uncrossed his arms. "What are ya talkin about Piper?" He hissed. "I'm goin' with ya." He was shocked and angered by the surprised look on her face, her big eyes widening as she tilted her head to the side. He had been in the house while she was packing, looking at the maps and the roads. He planned to go to the farm house where they had found Sophia for the night until they figured out where they were going…if they were moving on. While it had had a walker there it was still isolated and would be easy to lock down for a night or more. The fact that he had been making plans for them while she thought she was going by herself was sickening. "Ya didn't think I was gunna let ya off on yer own did ya?" His voice was full of apprehension and anger.

"It's just…these are your friends Daryl. I know how you feel here and they need you." Piper said quietly.

They had never really actually talked about it but she knew that Daryl had never been appreciated by his father or brother. Here people looked at him when they were having a discussion, wanted his two cents. She didn't want to ask him to leave that…couldn't expect him to. Not even for her.

"I mean…not that I don't need you, but not like them. They need you for food and protection. I can take care of myself now…" She didn't want to though. She didn't need Daryl for either of those things but she wanted him there, wanted to be near him. If anything had come out of her days in the woods when she had left him, it was that without him she was an animal.

Daryl gritted his teeth and wrapped his large hand around the back of her neck, bringing her in close so that he wouldn't be heard by anyone else. "But I need ya." He hissed the words, embarrassed by them but he knew it was true. No one had ever loved him like Piper did, trusted him, relied on him, been devoted to making him happy.

He needed to know she was safe. Those days when she was gone had been hell. He felt his heart stopping every time he heard a sound in the woods, wondering if it was the sound of her dying. He had woke up and found his eyes searching for her in the dark. What would it be to live the rest of his life wondering that?

He looked down at her carefully. "Already made my decision." He pushed a strand of hair from her face and back behind her ear fascinated by how fragile she still looked against his rough skin. "Talked ta Rick and Hershal 'bout it."

Piper looked up at him with her large green eyes and he could see tears shinning in them, pooling around the corners. Daryl frowned and ran his hand along her face and under her eye. "Don't cry." He murmured deeply. It made him want to comfort her and the only way he knew how to do that would be to touch her everywhere. "Its gunna be fine. Just ya and me fer a while." He muttered.

Piper nodded and stepped into his chest, burying her face in it, praying for strength. "I have to say goodbye to the kids." She said to him and he nodded.

"I'll strap yer shit ta the bike." He responded.

Piper nodded and took the few steps over to the kids. "Hey." She told them, sitting down in her knees as Sophia cried. "Hey don't do that. Its going to be fine." She rubbed Sophia's hair and smiled weakly at her.

"Don't go." Carl said from next to her. "I told Dad everything. It wasn't your fault!"

Piper reached out and took his hand. "Listen to me. Both of you. It's not safe for me to be here right now but that's not your fault. You did the right thing telling Rick what you saw and heard. Daryl and I are just going to go on a little vacation for a while."

"No! You're not!" Sophia protested. "You're leaving again!"

Piper pursed her lips as she looked at Carol who looked equally as distraught as her daughter. "You're right Sophia. But we will see each other again."

"How?" Sophia asked her, her voice breaking.

Piper held her arms in her hands. "Because I love you. Both of you. All of you. Listen and believe me Sophia." She put her forehead to hers just like Daryl did to her when he wanted to calm her and make her understand. "I will find you again. I promise." She kissed the girls cheeks, feeling the moisture on them from her tears. She hugged her tight and pulled Carl over to hug with them, the three hugging together.

Daryl watched from his bike after strapping her pack to his bike. He frowned as he saw Shane watching from far off, looking smug. Rick and Lori were watching from outside their own tent, watching the exchange and looking guilty. Rick glanced up at him before walking over with Glenn following him.

Piper cleared her throat and stood up from the two children, ruffling their hair as she turned to Carol. The woman looked close to tears. This girl and Daryl had brought back her daughter. She had played with them and loved them like they were her own.

Piper hugged Carol and murmured comfort that she didn't feel into her ear. "It will be alright Carol." She promised. "Give it time."

Carol nodded and stepped back to look at the young woman. "Take care of each other…love each other."

"We will." Piper promised.

Rick reached out and grasped forearms with Daryl. "Watch your back." The hunter growled.

"And you watch yours." Rick responded, glancing over at Piper while her hand was held tight by Carol. The woman had of course said that they should give Shane a second chance. She couldn't condone sending someone out on their own or putting then to death. Perhaps she just hadn't thought that Piper and Daryl would actually leave. "We will see you both again."

Daryl just grunted in response and shook hands with Glenn. "Girl. Let's get outta here." He called over to her, pulling her away from Carol's motherly hands. He gave the other woman a nod before sending one last final glare in Lori and Shane's direction.

Piper climbed onto the bike behind Daryl, putting her arms around his strong torso as he fired up the bike. He reached a hand behind himself and pulled her closer so that she was totally pressed against him. Piper put her head in between his shoulder blades to hide herself from the sobs that she could hear coming from Sophia and Carol.

She inhaled his scent, still shocked that he had decided to come with her. She loved him more than any thing she ever had in her life. Even his scent was a comfort to her right now. The engine roared to like and she turned her head to give one final look at the camp and the group.

Her green eyes caught Shane's smug expression as Daryl kicked the bike off. She looked at his murderous brown eyes and held her hand up in the shape of a gun, pretending she was taking the shot, letting him know that he still hadn't won; that he could never win.

* * *

Piper climbed off the bike as Daryl stopped it in the woods in front of the house. He began pulling down branches to cover and hide his bike as she pulled her pack and his saddle bag off, slinging it over her shoulder as she looked towards the house, recognizing it instantly.

She looked over at him as he finished pushing the branches and weaving them over the handle bars and seat. "You had a plan." She said out loud, eyebrows furrowing.

Daryl cleared his throat and nodded, walking over to her and taking his saddle bag from her shoulder, tossing it over his own as he looked down at her. "Yeah." He muttered. "Told ya I was gunna look after ya better, and I am."

Piper looked up at him as he pulled his crossbow off the opposite shoulder that he had slung the pack onto, preparing to check the perimeter. "You want left or right?" She asked him as the scanned the front of the house.

Without another word Daryl swerved to the right and she took the left, neither of them finding anything as they check and moved into the house from the back door. Daryl took downstairs, knowing that there would be more walkers of the first floor if they had gotten in as Piper took the upstairs.

Piper checked each of the upstairs rooms carefully, holding her hatchet in one hand and the knife in the other as she pushed closet doors open and checking every corner. She took in the bed in the master bedroom with a slight smile, pushing her hand down on the mattress to check the softness.

She glanced up quickly as she heard the floorboards squeaking and peeked out of the door to see a gruesome walker with half of its face ripped off stumbling down the hall in front of the stair landing. Slipping her pack to the ground she let out a half smile, liking that she was going to get some brutality after the emotionally traumatizing day. She settled the hatchet into her belt and kept her knife in her hand as she snuck with light feet across the old wood, grinning a Cheshire cat like smile. She maneuvered around just as the walker smelled her and turned to bare its rotting teeth. "Daryl!" She yelled right as she kicked out her leg and let her foot connect with the walkers chest, sending it down the stairs in a heap.

Daryl appeared right away, putting an arrow into its soft flesh as it looked up at him with a broken neck and snapping teeth.

"Clear." Piper told him with a shrug.

He looked up at Piper on the platform as she gave him a little sly smile. He growled. "Could ya not play with them?" He muttered up to her, even though he felt his heart beating faster as she smiled at him, so glad that he was there with her. She gave him a playful pout and he shook his head, rubbing his bottom lip as he looked up at her with heat building in his eyes and groin. "Clear down here ta." He muttered. "Pushed the china cabinet up 'gainst the back door. Front door locks up tight."

Piper nodded and climbed down the stairs, jumping the last two so that she could avoid the walker body. She laughed when Daryl caught her, dropping his crossbow and letting her wrap her legs around him. "Wild girl." He growled at her before forcing her lips to his and devouring her lips with his. He drove his tongue into her mouth as he turned them around toward the living room where he had rested the first time they had been in the house.

He had to admit that her crazy had become a bit of a turn on for him. When she got heated after a fight or killed something completely nonchalantly, he felt a need growing to prove that he was still in control of her. He liked it; liked that he was the only person who could dominate this extreme predator. He threw them down on the sofa with him on top of her.

Piper let out a little surprised laugh as his mouth moved down her neck, sending tingles up and down her spine and into her long legs. The limbs moved up and clenched around his sides without her being able to stop them, pulling a moan from him.

"Corpse." He heard her chock out, voice strained as she arched underneath him.

Daryl glanced behind him over his shoulder at just the arm that was visible through the doorway. He turned back to her with a smirk on his dirty face. "Take care of it later." He muttered gruffly as he pulled her shirt over her head. It had been a while since he had her and his body was humming with the idea of being able to do whatever he wanted with her, whenever he wanted to and make her as loud as he wanted her to be.

Every nerve in her body fired as Daryl's teeth found her pulse and nipped into it. She gasped and jerked against him, making him grin into her soft, delicious skin. Pulling his lips away he trailed scratching warm kisses down her soft skin, hands gripping her ribs loosely as her hips rotated under him. He lingered on her navel, running his tongue around her belly button.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut at the sensation of him gripping onto her, letting small whimpers escape her lips as she bit mercilessly at her bottom one.

"No way girl." Daryl told her as he pulled at the buttons of her jeans. "Dontcha dare stay quiet on me." He pulled the jeans and under wear from her legs quickly, sitting in between them as he yanked his shirt off.

Piper opened her bright eyes to him and watched the muscles on his shoulder and chest work as he tossed his shirt to the side. Still biting her lip she reached out for the buttons on his jeans only to have her hands pushed away.

"Not yet." His husky voice ground out as he looked down at her naked form. He owed her something…something that he had never actually done before. Girls before her had just been a way to get off. He didn't need to do this to get his release but he wanted to try it with her after the amazing feeling she had given him in the woods the other day. He wanted to hear her scream out his name in pure ecstasy.

Pushing her up farther on the sofa he angled her legs up and over his broad shoulders as he ducked down and ran his fingers along her opening her for him. She moaned out as he touched her, unable to hold back her reaction.

"Louder…." He commanded before ducking his head down and taking a slow, long lick from her.

He closed his blue eyes briefly. He had thought that it would be disgusting. Merle had always talked about how girl tasted like rotting fish but Piper was so sweet and warm he could have drunk from her. He groaned against her as her fingers gripped into his hair and she bucked under him. Gripping her hips harder, he held her down as he explored her, tongue darting around as he found the spots that made her pant and jerk in his hands.

He was shocked by how much of a turn on it was to taste her and feel her squirming under him in pleasure. He was growing harder and harder by the minute, straining against the scratchy jeans.

Piper was gasping for breath at the feeling but forced herself to open her eyes and watch as continued his new found skill. She felt warmth building inside of her, threatening to give out at any moment and melt her completely. Her legs tightened around his shoulder and her back arched, forcing her to look away as he fought to push her vice like legs wider, dipping his tongue inside of her and forcing a strangled sound of pleasure from her. She looked back down again, his blue eyes catching hers and sending her over the edge as she screamed out his name louder than she ever had before.

Daryl smirked to himself as he continued to lap up her sweet taste until she had finished trembling. Leaning up his whipped his mouth off with his forearm while looking down at her naked form under him. He quickly fumbled with his pants, trying to pull them off while still looking at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest rose and fell unevenly with the intensity of her orgasm. He was unbelievably proud of himself and turned on by his power over her.

He bent over her and used a hand to force her face back to his, kissing her deeply as he entered her tightness, soaked by now under his touches. She gripped into his sides with a gasp of pleasure.

"Christ Piper!" He growled as he began a slow hammering rhythm into her, shockingly close already.

It was unbelievable how him entering her brought her right back to the edge again. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gasped his name into his ear as she nipped the lobe. Daryl arched his back and panted harder as he slowly felt himself caving at the feeling of her tight muscles and the way that she said his name.

"Lord girl…" He murmured against her lips as their noses pressed together. "I love ya…." He let out a hoarse chocking sound as he filled her, finding his own release right as her muscles contracted a second time and she hissed out a sound of pleasure.

They lay shaking on each other for a few long minutes as both tried to regain their breath.

Daryl propped his elbows on either side of her head and looked down at each other. "Just ya and me now Piper." He murmured down, his voice weak from groaning so loud.

Piper nodded and ran her hands along his face. "Just you and me." She repeated.


	44. Chapter 44

_**Sorry that this has taken so long everyone. I have been kind of stuck but I had this mind blowing idea for a new arch that you all will hate and love me for!**_

_**Please check out my friend Gurl3677's story "I Need You" It's amazing and I can tell you that the arch is going to be incredible!**_

_**Also Please Check out my actual Norman Fic "Bake Shop" on Yourfanfiction dot com Actual Norman story! Yay!**_

**Dark-n-Twisty: I love juxtaposition. I think it is so meaningful and important in writing and in relationships. I'm glad you like it and, based on your user name, you are going to love what I have coming for them.**

**Guest: It is kind of like a wedding for them! A promise to each other.**

**tatyasdias: Lol if you have a dirty mind for liking it than I have a horribly dirty mind for writing it!**

**ChooseJoy: Finally! I'm glad you like it!**

**LindseyPhipps: The worst part about reading a story in one day is that you have to wait for the next chapter!**

**Melanie and Kit-cat99 : Mayyyyyyybeeeee :P I have plans don't you worry!**

**JavaNut: Very Daryl like. The way that he sees it she's his, he doesn't need to ask.**

**gurl3677: He can have power over me any time. Fuck fest 2012!**

**piratejessieswaby: Lol you really want her to kill Shane! Don't worry.**

**Thank you to Emberka-2012 and Leyshla Gisel for reviewing as well!**

_**Favorite**** Line: "Ya aint ever gunna be rid of me girl."**_

Chapter Forty Four:

Piper hunched down as she moved through the woods, eyes darting from side to side as she scanned the area around her. She could feel Daryl slightly behind her, watching her movements tracking better than she could but letting her lead.

He hunted animals…she hunted walkers. It was almost like a sport for her. Watching her do it was amazing. He saw his own steps mimicked in her motions with more fluid grace than he had ever possessed. His perfect little hunter.

She turned her bright green eyes over her shoulder and smiled at him brightly. It was like a date in a more carnal world. He smirked at her and raised his eyebrows in question.

Piper pursed her full lips together and looked in front of her. She loved him, loved this. She had been on quite a few dates in the pre-walker world but this was definitely the best. There was no worry about small talk or what film to see. What dress to wear. Just a wildness that had always pushed her away from boyfriends bringing them closer and closer.

She pointed in front of her to see three walkers having a large supper of deer. She motioned to him like he had taught her, four fingers up and a gun shot sign. Daryl gave a curt nod and pulled an arrow into his bow before glancing up at her.

Her teeth trailed across her bottom lip and scratched at the surface of the soft skin. Her tiny hand found the knife at her side and pulled it from the old leather sheath before finding her ax and pulling it as well. She looked at him with a sadistic little smile playing on her face before leaning forward and touching her lips to his.

He watched as she stood up fully and walked up towards the walkers. All four looked up at the almost inaudible sound of her feet touching the ground. They hovered over their prey and snapped at her as she stood about three feet from them and waited.

Daryl raised his bow in anticipation, hoping that he wouldn't have to use it but ready if he did. All four pulled their stinking grey flesh from the ground and began to shakily move towards her.

Piper gripped the two handles in her hands and waited until they got close enough for her to plunge her weapons into fading flesh, spinning and whirling like the dancer she had once been. Daryl watched her, mesmerized as she moved with impromptu footwork. It looked so practiced and beautiful he could barely stand it. Her toes skimmed the grass and legs bent as she crotched out of the way of dirty broken teeth.

"Fuck." He muttered as the last one came around her back. Before he could fire the arrow she spun and hurled the knife, narrowly missing its head as the knife lodged into the tree. He released the arrow and it went sideways through the walkers head.

Piper watched it fall before looking at him and going to retrieve the knife. "Dammit." She muttered as she yanked it from the tree.

"Three." He muttered more to himself then her. Three walkers on her own. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed, cheeks flushed in the cooling air and from her exertion. She was smiling widely now as she watched him assess her work. He turned back to her with burning blue eyes. "Love ya girl." He murmured before kissing her deeply, bringing her tiny body close to him.

* * *

Daryl stalked through the woods, keeping a close eye out while looking for Piper. She had said she was going to go out while he was hunting and he had commanded her to stay put until he got back. Of course, when he had gotten back to the house with his catch from the day she was nowhere to be found.

For someone that had come to the conclusion that she was his pet, she sure didn't listen. He tracked her down through the woods, following her small footprints through the trees and brush. Tracking her was more like finding a deer then finding a human being. She walked lightly and her body moved with a grace that he knew all too well.

He stepped out by a deeper part of the creek that he had found her at when she had run away from him the first time. Glancing down he found her cloths tossed by a tree next to the body of a walker. He sighed. At least she had cleared a perimeter first.

He glanced up as a head of dark hair came out of the water, soothing the curls from her face. Piper smiled at him brightly. "Welcome home honey. How was work?" She joked.

Daryl scowled at her. "This ain't home. Told ya ta stay at the house."

Piper frowned at him. "And I guess I'm meant to be a good dog and listen when you say 'stay'?" He scowled again. "I just wanted to take a bath."

Without waiting for a reply she tossed herself back under the water, feeling its soothing calm just as she had done when she was first found. She smiled when she felt it moving around her and a pair of strong arms grab onto her waist and pull her back against a naked chest.

Daryl closed his eyes as he floated lifted her around the waist so that her feet were off the ground. "Only tell ya what ta do so yer safe." He muttered against her shoulder.

Piper nodded but looked over her shoulder at him. "It's not like it was before Daryl. I'm stronger now. I'm with you because I love you, not because I need you to protect me."

He liked protecting her though, liked that she was his to look after and take care of. He slipped his hand over her collarbones and frowned into the top of her head. "I know ya don't." He thought back to the whirlwind of movement in the woods he had seen yesterday. She was a beautiful, graceful killing machine. He couldn't help but think that he had helped make her that way.

"Daryl?" She finally murmured after a few minutes. "Thank you for coming with me."

He grunted in response. "Ya aint ever gunna be rid of me girl."

Piper felt a small smile break out on her face. She hoped that was true. Either way he was always going to be a part of her, a silent shadow in her consciousness.

Daryl looked up at the darkening sky. "Getting late…should get back." He murmured down to her. It wasn't safe for them to be out at night, naked in the water. They could be naked in the bed they had been sharing for the past week. They had set up an array of booby traps around the down stairs, centering around the only entrance and stair case.

Piper sighed and nodded, pulling herself from his arms and grudgingly to shore. He followed her out, watching her hips and ass move as she walked. He made a guttural sound of want as he followed her, picking up his pants and pulling them on to hide his body tightening up at the sight of her. He loved her and her little body, so tight…so warm and inviting. Most importantly all his.

He watched her dress, not caring that she had to walk up to a walker naked to retrieve her clothing. When she was done he swung an arm over her shoulders and walked back with her towards the house.

* * *

"Daryl Please!" Piper bit her lip to hold in the moan as Daryl gripped into her hips, entering her from behind in one deep thrust. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back in pleasure.

"Oh hell…" He weezed at the feeling of her tight muscles clenching around him. He had felt the need to dominate her somehow after her leaving the house today. This was the perfect way to do it…so perfect. He gripped her with one hand while his other wove through her hair, now down to her shoulder blades. He pulled on it lightly, still trying not to hurt her as his body ached to just pound into her. He wouldn't. He would never hurt her…but he would make her sore. Her neck pulled back with her hair and back caved as he moved in and out of her.

She could feel his hard thighs in between hers, pushing into her with barely restrained forced. She panted and whined as his hand moved from her hip to the center of the small of her back.

He groaned out her name, making her tremble against him. "Cum for me Piper!" He chocked out, knowing that it was just what he needed. He slammed into her as hard as he could, making her jolt forward and cry out in pleasure. He smirked as he withdrew and repeated the motion, burying deep inside of her so that he could feel every smooth inch contracting around him. He groaned again as whimpered out her orgasm, spilling inside of her as his hips and back arched.

He clasped on top of her small shaking form, his warm weight comforting in the cooling air of the Georgia fall. He breathed hard and kissed her shoulder, rubbing his chin against it and making her laugh and squirm as he's scruffy beard tickled her heated skin. He chuckled evilly before flipping her over and doing it to her neck and cheek, leaving a little pink trail everywhere he went.

"Stop!" She got out through her laughter, bracing her hands on his shoulders and trying to get him away but it was no use. He was like a bolder over her. "Come on Daryl!" When they both finally settled, Piper wrapped her arms around his neck with a soft smile. "I like this." She told him quietly, weaving her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck.

Daryl nodded slowly. "I like fuckin' ya too." He muttered gruffly.

"Not that." Piper said with an eye roll. He looked down at her questioningly. "Being out here…with you. I was worried about it but it's nice. No drama. No people trying to trick and kill each other. Just you and I." She still missed the kids and her friends but this was a nice vacation sort of thing.

Daryl gulped down and looked her over for a moment. He had never thought that he would be like a woman like this. To have her laying under him with her arms wrapped around his neck, looking up at him with that adoring look in her eyes. It was a look she only gave to him. Something that both made him uncomfortable and warm at the same time. "We can stay like this." He muttered down to her trying to ease the lump in this throat and stomach.

"For how long?" She asked him.

Daryl let out a long sighing breath as he thought about it. "For as long as ya want."

Daryl opened woke from his light sleep late that night, blue eyes snapping to attention as he heard rustling outside. He looked over to where Piper lay, exhausted by his passion earlier, at his side. Her dark eyelashes fluttered over her cheeks as she slept, hand twisted into his shirt. He always got dressed after…just in case something like this happened.

He pulled himself from the bed, rubbing his eyes as he crotched over to the window. It was no deer or animal, he saw, peeking out at the limping, stumbling, groaning herd. There were hundreds of them shakily moving through the woods. None of them had noticed the house with the lights all out yet. They never lit lights for just this reason. He pushed his lips together and went to wake Piper.


	45. Chapter 45

**piratejessieswaby****: Lol. You are about to get what you've been wanting in this chapter! **

**merisoo****: No the farm has not been attacked yet. **

**gurl3677****: Hehehehe one track mind. **

**JetNova****: She does what she has to do to protect the people that she loves. **

**Leyshla Gisel****: If two people can handle themselves its them. About to post a new Chapter of Bake Shop too! **

**Caffiend04****: Lol! And here I was worried that there was too much sex! Maybe he was exaggerating about hundreds but it's the same huge herd moving towards the farm.**

**Thank you to ****Kit-cat99****and Javanut as well for reviewing! Love you all! Big Plans! **

**Favorite Line: "Tell Daryl I'm in love with him and I'll see him in hell."**

Chapter Forty Five:

Piper looked out the hazy window, hiding herself against the chipping frame as best as she could. "They're moving in the direction of the farm." She whispered.

Daryl grunted and looked at her, rubbing his lips with his thumb. "We can get ta em first." He muttered. "Get my bike and go through the woods the way we came."

He looked at her closely, wondering if that was what she wanted. He knew that they needed to warn the others about the impending storm but knew that she was liking this time out in the woods. So was he but they had responsibilities. Still he could lock her tight in here and make the run himself, come back for her in the morning. But then there was always the chance that one of the walkers would catch her scent...that she wouldn't be able to control herself and burst into a blaze of flaming glory only to be snuffed out by the overwhelming numbers.

"Aint gunna be pretty."

Piper nodded. "We have to try…most of them are still our family." He nodded in agreement.

Piper crotched in the branches above the bike as Daryl pulled some of the branches that were hiding his ride away as quietly as he could. Her bright green eyes scanned the near pitch blackness around them, ears perked up as she listened to make sure the walkers were moving on and not stopping close to them.

She licked her lips. It was almost like they were migrating, flowing in the same direction with jolted unsteady movements. Her eyes darted down to Daryl. "We have to warn them." Daryl grunted and pulled the last of the branches from his ride as best he could. The kids were there, Rick and Glenn. People she cared about even though they had left. People she knew that he cared about too despite the fact that he had never said it.

Daryl straddled his bike and looked at her. "Get on." He told her and she slipped down from the branch and onto the bike without touching the ground. Her hands gripped into his angel cut as he pushed the bike off, speeding and swirling the bike around the walkers as they looked up at them.

Piper watched as her cheek pressed against his back. He was making sure not to go directly towards the farm house, trying not the draw the walkers with them though they were headed this was anyway.

She caught a glint of something through the trees. "Stop…stop!" She said into his ear over the roar of his engine.

Daryl frowned, feeling her warm breath across his ear and reflexively shivering. He slowed the bike to a stop and looked back at her as she climbed off. "What are ya doin'?" He asked, confused.

"I saw something. Its Rick I think and someone else. I'm going to tell them about the herd. " Piper told him as she came to his side. "Please Daryl…protect my kids?" He nodded quickly, knowing that she meant Carl and Sophia. "I'll meet you at the highway if something happens…anything happens. I'll find you."

Daryl grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave, pulling her back to him. He kissed her hard, grabbing at her soft face with his rough fingers. His hot demanding tongue forced itself into her mouth and pulled hers into his own mouth. He broke away with a husky grunt. "I love ya Piper." He told her forcefully. Something was eating at him, tearing into his gut. Like this could be the last time. He pushed down the sense of dread. It always felt like it could be the last time and she was right. He needed to stop treating her like a dog to protect and fuck. She didn't need his protection. "I'm trustin' ya ta be okay out there…I don't fuckin' like it but I'm gunna do it." She gave him a quick nod. "Protect yerself. By any means."

Piper nodded and ran her eyes over her lovers face. She tapped her knife on her thigh and gave him a soft reassuring smile. "I always do. Don't worry about me. I always survive."

Daryl licked his bottom lip and fired his engine. "Hurry." He told her before pealing forward.

She watched him leave before running in the direction of the trees and stood on the edge, hiding behind one of the thick tree trunks and narrowing her eyes as she focused on the shaved head in front of her. Shane…He had a gun to Ricks and was talking about how he was going to be better then him…how he was already better for him.

Piper tilted her head down, face shadowed by her hair and moved slowly through the grass, drawing her knife and holding it tight. Shane's board back was turned to her but Rick caught sight of her dark shadow moving through the grass behind the man. She was silent, cold but when her face turned up to him, masked in dark and harsh lines in the night he could see the question in it as she hovered a few feet from Shane's back.

"Take out your gun." Shane said.

"No." Rick told him, standing tall. "You want to do this you're going to have to shoot an unarmed man." He told the man that he had once trusted; once called a friend. Now the darkened little hell hound pup behind him was more trustworthy.

Shane gritted his teeth and cocked his gun. "Take. It. Out." Shane told him in a hard voice.

Rick gave a little nod…not at Shane. It was at Piper but he wouldn't look away from the man and let him know that the little girl was behind him.

Piper bit her lip and stepped forward, letting out a little tensed breath as she touched Shane's shoulder. Shane spun around and Pipers knife bit into his stomach as she held it over hand, driving it upwards with her own force and the momentum of his turn. He gagged and stared at her in shock, his face breaths away from hers.

"That was your last chance." She hissed and she pushed it higher and his gun dropped from his hand. The sharp blade pierced with a crunching sound up through his ribs and into his flooding lungs.

"I told you one of these days I was going to get you." She whispered as his legs gave out and he fell to the ground in front of her.

Rick hunched over the man's body, screaming and crying in frustration. "You drove me to this!" He wailed. He knew that if he had just shook his head no Piper would have slinked back into the woods. This was still his kill as much as it was hers.

Rick slumped onto the ground next to the body and rubbed his hands over his wet face. He felt Pipers hand on his shoulder before she kneeled down behind him and hugged him around the back of his neck. He gripped her arm over his collar bones as they both starred at the body in front of them. "I…didn't want…" He started and stopped.

Piper rested her chin on his shoulder and nodded. "I know. But I did it for you. It's alright. It's self-preservation Rick…I told you that he would come after you brother. This is the only way it could have ended."

"Dad?"

Both of their heads snapped around to see Carl standing, looking at them and the body shakily. They stood up quickly.

"Carl…" Rick choked as his sons eyes fell to the prone body of the man that had gotten him and his mother to relative safety. "Carl don't please." He started a few steps towards him as Piper tried to block the body with her slender form.

"Carl don't look." Piper told him as she gave up and followed after them. "Turn away!"

Both she and Rick stopped as Carl pulled out the gun, holding it in shaky hands. "Carl no…" Rick begged as he aim, moving the gun in between them.

Carl squeezed the trigger and the bullet flew in between them, striking something behind them. Rick turned in shock to see the body of walker Shane on the ground close to them. Piper glanced back at it as Rick starred at the now twice dead Shane before looking back at Carl. "Good shot…" She told him with a little smile. _Shot. _"Rick! There are walkers…oceans of walkers coming! The shot will draw them here!"

"Damn." Rick muttered before his eyes darted over her shoulder. He grabbed his son as he saw the horde.

"Shit…" Piper muttered as they dropped low.

"We've got to move…come on." With the other hand that wasn't grabbing Carl, he reached and took Pipers blood soaked hands.

Piper looked at it for a moment before pulling away and taking a deep breath. He and Carl wouldn't get far…not with all of them. "Rick…" She told him. "We'll never make it." Rick shook his head and reached for her again. "I'll draw as many as I can into the woods. I know these woods. I'll be fine. It will give you and Carl a better chance of getting to safety. I'll make my way to the highway."

"Piper no! You'll never make it!" Carl protested loudly.

"Sush!" Piper told him, rubbing the top of his head. "Be quiet…stay low. Get to higher ground." She looked at Rick who was watching her seriously. "Let me go Rick…go help the people that need help. If I don't make it to the highway by morning…" She closed her eyes and looked at the herd. "Tell Daryl that I'm in love with him and that I'll see him in hell." She tried to joke the last part, making herself choke a laugh but Rick frown at her sick little joke. He gave her a slow little nod as she stepped back, pulling her knife from Shane's chest and the hatchet from her belt.

"Piper." Rick said quietly. She looked back at him, her green eyes wild and animal like again…just like the first time he had tried to touch her. "We'll see you again."

Piper gave him a nod of her own before she started to run away from them and Rick and Carl ducked into the grass by the fence, preparing to make a run for it.

"HEY!" She screamed as loud as she could, drawing an countless amount of walkers attention to her. "HEY OVER HERE! DINNER'S SERVED!" She screamed before running through the familiar woods with about a third of the walkers following her.


	46. Chapter 46

**Well I take it from the amount of comments about it that you all liked Shanes Death at both the hands of Rick and Piper! So thank you for all of the reviews!**

**I know that this chapter is rather slow but I needed to write it to get where I want to go. Enjoy!**

**Favorite Line: It's a toss up this morning!**

_**"Was this his idea of a sick grave marker for her?"**_

_**"He didn't want to admit to himself that even if she did survive like she always seemed to…they would probably never find each other again."**_

**Chapter Forty Six:**

She didn't have to kill them all, Piper reminded herself. She just had to outrun them…she could outrun them. She headed in the opiate direction of the highway, much to her own dread. There was no point in leading them to where the rest of the group would go if they couldn't protect the farm. Her feet pounded the ground as she ran hard and fast for what seemed like hours. Her legs jerked as they hit branches a roots, tearing at her jeans and shirt.

In the beginning they were close and she took out two or three as she ran, the wet thick blood sticking to her cloths. Once she had started really running though she had gained a good lead but she never let it be enough for them to think that they couldn't catch her. They needed to think that they could catch her. It was a risky game of cat and mouse but she knew in some part of her foggy blood soaked mind that it was necessary.

She discarded her jacket as she began to overheat. She could feel the thin layer of her black cotton t-shirt ripping as branches snagged on it but she paid no attention, pumping her arms as she continued to lead the herd away from the camp.

She vaguely knew that the scent of her blood was an advantage, that the undead would follow it. Once she had a good enough lead she stopped for a moment and took a deep shaky breath, looking around. Her ever injured ankle throbbed at its over use, pulsing and burning more than that little cuts. She knew that she wouldn't get much farther.

She turned quickly when she started hearing groaning from a good distance behind her. She just hoped that she had given them enough of chase away from the farm. She knew that she had been running for at least an hour…maybe even more. She frowned and looked around her before running to a nearby tree. Paying no heed to her injuries, she jumped and grabbed up onto a branch. It popped and protested but she was able to pulled herself up and to another before it broke. She continued to pull herself higher into the dense tree. When her ankle finally gave out she let out a whimper of pain and winced; stopping now that she was sure she was high enough. The pain shot all the way up her leg and she knew that if she was standing it would have given completely out.

She tried to level out her breathing, closing her eyes as she heard the group of walkers moving closer. She had never been so unnerved by walkers, the sound of their uneven pace and gritting teeth was driving her even more crazy. Closing her eyes she took shallow silent breaths as the walkers began to pass under the tree.

* * *

Daryl pulled the motorcycle onto the highway, looking at the group that had gathered. Piper was no where in sight. He had thought that she would be with Rick. He grasped forearms with the man who looked emotionally and physically exhausted.

"We need to talk." Rick told him solemnly and Daryl nodded sharply, eyes darting to the woods and waiting for her to emerge, like his little woods demon always did.

"What did she do?" His blue eyes squinted and continued to scan the tree line as his heart pounded in his chest.

Rick and he walked slightly away from the group. "She came in on Shane trying to shoot me." Daryl snorted. "She killed him."

"Course she killed him." Daryl said bluntly. "Was only a matter of time 'for that happened." He looked at Rick sharply before turning his eyes back to the woods. "How'd ya'll get separated?" He asked, his voice gruff and low, trying to hold in emotion.

Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Carl and I were with her and she ran to draw some of the walkers into the woods so that we could get away. She said to tell you that…" He paused, not really wanting to repeat the words. Daryl would not find them funny right now. His face was hard and he was squinting out into the trees. "She'd find us here and if she wasn't back by the morning…well…she would find us."

Daryl felt anger boiling in him at her running off into the woods but he knew that she had done it to save the group members. His stomach ached the longer he watched the tree line. The more he listened to the others talk about where to go and leaving Andrea and Piper behind, the more it contracted and he felt like he was going to burst.

"We'll come back once we've found shelter." Rick told them. "Once we've found a safe place for the night. But we can't stay here hoping that they're not dead."

"They aint dead." Daryl snarled solidly. Piper was not dead. Like she had said, she was a survivor. She wouldn't go down. Remembering back he held solidly onto that fact. She had been in a lot of shitty situations, hopeless situations and she never let herself go down. She said she would find him than they would fucking find each other. End of story.

Rick frowned, looking out over the woods. They couldn't stay here any longer. They needed to find shelter before night fall. "Daryl," Rick muttered as the others argued. "We need to get everyone to safety. That's why she did this. Those woods are crawling with walkers…we can't just leave everyone sitting out here like targets."

Daryl frowned and squinted over at Sophia and Carl, both looking traumatized and exhausted. He had promised her he'd take care of those kids…

The others packed into the cars quickly, holding onto each other and visibly shaking from the nights ordeal. Scowling to himself, chest aching, he walked over to the car with the faded white letters with a message to Sophia from what seemed like forever ago. He pushed some of the food and water off it angrily, irritably and causing some of the other members to look at him. Daryl shrugged off his winged leather cut and put it on the car, squinting at it for a moment before looking out into the woods. He braced his hand on the leather as the last of the group climbed into the cars.

He'd get them to safety first, then come back for her. She'd know he was here and stay of he left this, know that he was coming back for her and the faded old leather. He smoothed it along the hood of the car, taking a deep rigid, breath before walking over to his bike and going to fulfill his promise: Protect the children, Protect their group.

* * *

Piper lurched toward the farm house as the sun came up the next morning. She hadn't slept in the tree, keeping watch as dozens of walkers trudged past her. Luckily none of them had noticed her. She couldn't have slept even if the walkers had moved away faster. Her ankle was swelling up against the inside of her boot and she could still her skin burning from the scratches of the forest around her as she had tried to get away from the walkers.

It had taken her hours to reach what she had run in one the night before and by the time she reached the smoking skeleton of the barn it was midday. She gritted her teeth as she looked around, seeing all of the cares gone and the bodies of walkers littering the blood smeared earth. She closed her eyes and knew without a doubt that they hadn't been able to hold the farm. There was never much hope for that to begin with but they had all chosen not to think about it; including herself. She slipped around one or two of the walkers but for the most part the herd seemed to have dissipated.

She bit her lip in pain as she limped up the front porch steps, seeing that the boards were still in place. Yeah, everyone had defiantly made a run for it. Pulling out her hatchet she used all of the strength she could to pry some of the two by fours away. She slipped into the house and leaned against the door as she locked it behind her, looking around. "Okay Piper…hold it together. They just went to the highway like you said." There was no point in feeling abandon just yet.

She limped over to the kitchen and pulled Hershal's large medical supply bag from under the sink, falling down into one of the chairs and wincing as she peeled her boot from her foot.

It was swelled…a lot. This had happened before when she strained it. She cracked an icepack until it became cold and gripped an ace bandage in her hand holding up one end with her teeth while she used her hands to hold the icepack to her ankle and bind it up with the ace bandage. She grunted in pain and held back tears. Now that the adrenaline had worn of she could feel all of the scratches on her body and the pain in her ankle.

Finishing up she tested her ankles strength again and when satisfied that it would hold on her began to walk more normally out of the house. She needed to get to the highway as soon as she could.

Piper was gasping for breath and limping by the time she got to the heating highway late in the afternoon. She looked around her, feeling panic spreading in her body as the only sounds around her were the bugs buzzing in the surrounding grasses and woods. Everything else was morbidly silent.

They had left already…or maybe never come at all. She closed her eyes and leaned against one of the cars, willing herself not to cry. She was exhausted, in pain and felt drained in every physical and physiological way. They must have thought that she was already dead. She felt tears prickling her eyes as she thought about it…about the total feeling of abandonment that slithered through her stomach. She pushed the tears away with the heel of her hand quickly and shook her head at herself before something caught her eye.

Moving over to another car she ran her hands along the sum warmed leather and looked down at the wings sitting over the car. Not twenty four hours ago her cheek had pressed into that, warm strong shoulder blades moving under it. She closed her eyes and tried to let out a breath, her lip trembling. Was this his idea of a sick grave marker for her? Was he telling her that he was gone and that he wasn't going to be her angel anymore?

She opened her eyes again and picked up the cut, sliding it over her thin shoulders to cover her ripped and bloody shirt. Nothing was making sense right now. She needed rest before she could think about what to do next.

Pulling the leather closer and smelling it she opened one of the car's back doors and slide onto the seat, locking the door behind her and laying across the bench.

She pressed her nose into the familiar leather collar again. "I'm still here Daryl." She whispered as if someone would hear. She buried her face into the leather and tried to find the peace of mind to sleep…at least for a little while and regain some strength. As she fell asleep she finally let herself release hot, wet tears.

* * *

Daryl tossed a long onto the tiny fire. He gritted his teeth down hard as he heard the rest of the group talking about the events of the past day and what they were going to do. Getting up from his hunches he walked away from the group. He needed a fucking minute. His shoulders felt too light without his jacket and he was going to be sleeping alone tonight while he got to watch the farm girl and China man hang all over each other.

He closed his eyes and took a deep angry breath before punching into a tree next to him. He felt blood instantly ozz from his knuckles and down in between his fingers but he punched the tree again before moving on to tear away at the branches and leaves around him, throwing them with venom. Rage swelled inside him along with the feeling of utter helplessness building since there was absolutely nothing he could do right now.

"You should go find her." Said a small voice from behind him. He looked behind him, panting hard by this point to see Carol with her arms around herself. "We should have never left her there to start with. Rick should have never asked you too."

Daryl tried to gulp down his rage so that he didn't snap at the woman. It didn't work. "What do ya want me ta do? I can't be chasin' every little bitch that goes wanderin' inta the woods! She fuckin' knew what she was doin'!" He was angry now. He had told her that he didn't like letting her do it, but she had run off anyway and let herself get separated from the group. For what? For all of THEM!? What about HIM?! He was supposed to be the one that she loved and she would do this to him?!

He slammed his fist into the tree again. Carol stepped back but didn't do any more than that. He took a deep breath, every muscle in his body twitching in the darkness. "She's gunna be fine. She always is." Daryl muttered as he walked away. He didn't want to admit to himself that even if she did survive like she always seemed to…they would probably never find each other again.


	47. Chapter 47

**Kit-cat99****: And she needs him. She just not…human without him. **

**Lphipps21****: I do take ideas from comments and incorporate them into the story! Sometimes I use them sometimes I don't. I already have a hard core story line for what is coming up with this story. Thank you for reading Bake Shop as well! That's a fun one to write! **

**gurl3677****: They are real people! **

**PiercedHeart114****: They're reunion will be heart breaking…trust me. We will all cry. **

**Melanie: She is real dammit! I know it! Lol. :P **

**piratejessieswaby****: She's going to find someone else first…trust me. I have the magic power of shocking and amazing!**

**Dark-n-Twisty****: Oh the last few chapters are nothing compared to what I have planned! Keep reviewing and enjoying!**

**Thank you to ****Emberka-2012****, ****coconutcarter****, ****JavaNut****, ****Last Angel in Hell**** and ****Leyshla Gisel**** for also reviewing!**

_**Favorite Line: " Its hungry eyes followed hers as she moved them back and forth, seeing if it would follow the movement. It did. She crossed her eyes for a moment and giggled to herself when it almost looked confused."**_

Chapter Forty Seven:

Scratching could be heard on the window in the cool air of the morning lights. Piper was shocked that she had slept so long and that the sun had set and night had passed without her knowing it. She opened her huge green eyes to see a walker, scratching mercilessly at the window.

Memories of the past few days ran through her mind slowly and jerkily. For a few moments there, she had been herself again, wrapped up in bed with an amazing man that had loved her. She had stayed on the highway for two days now…waiting. She snuggled deeper into HIS old leather cut as she thought about it and watched the walker snap and bite as if it could get through the window with its fingertips and lips. Even its teeth scrapped along the now saliva smeared glass.

She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if she could fall back asleep with the walker scratching at her window. It was already late in the next morning and still she could tell that no one had come back for her. There wouldn't be a walker there if they had.

She sighed and knew that sleep was a bad idea as she locked eyes with the predator outside the window. Its hungry eyes followed hers as she moved them back and forth, seeing if it would follow the movement. It did. She crossed her eyes for a moment and giggled to herself when it almost looked confused. In some part of her sane mind she knew that it didn't have the mental capacity to be confused but it was still a funny notion.

"Enough playing around." She finally sighed to herself. She pulled her knife and sat up, causing her momentary play mate to become excited at its promise of a live meal. She rolled down the window slightly and pushed back, waiting for it to lean forward just enough so that she could stab through its crusty skull. She pushed it away with her good foot before climbing out of the car. She could only see one other walker roaming around.

Even_** if**_ (And that was a big if after two whole days) they were coming back for her…if HE was coming back, she knew that it wasn't safe here; that she couldn't stay out in the open like this. They were not coming back. She slumped down and retrieved some of the food and water into a bag that was left lying by the car. Glancing up she looked out into the woods…it would be safer if she kept moving. If the group was still out there, she would find them. She tried to think of them as the group…not as the man that had left his jacket there as her head stone.

She spun around as she heard the limping steps of the other walker finally hearing and coming for its next meal. She turned to it and let it get closer, began breathing hard as she cleaved its head open easily with her hatchet.

She was angry…furious beyond belief that the only man she had ever loved would leave her behind… think she would die that easily. She was pissed that he would leave her the jacket that now hung off her slender form as her grave stone.

Curling her lip she used all of her strength to push the body onto the hood of the car, right where his jacket had been. Drawing her knife she ripped open the once man's shirt, carving in a message as tear of anger and sadness rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the thin spray of blood that came from its skin.

* * *

Daryl cleaned off his arrows and machete with a blood soaked rag. It barely made it clean after the past day, just smearing the black blood across the metal instead of cleaning it. They had cleared most of the prison and the yard. It was grueling…bloody work and all of them had needed to participate. When Rick had said that they would need to go in hand to hand he had looked behind him for a moment, searching out his woman who was no longer with them. She could have done it…she would have loved to do it. It would be like playing video games for her. But she wasn't there… she was alone.

He stood up, looking at Rick. The other man knew exactly what he was thinking, turning to the other men in the group. "Keep this place locked down until we get back." Rick told them.

"You're leaving again?" Lori asked angrily.

"We have to go back to the highway. See if Piper and Andrea made it back." He told his wife, watching her go to protest. "This is not a discussion."

Lori clenched Carl to her, not liking the new authoritative Rick whose eyes were so hard and face so tight. She looked at the hunter behind him who looked equally as hard. Who could love a man like that besides the insane little girl who had killed Shane for her husband.

Rick and Daryl drove back to the highway in relative silence. Rick glanced over as Daryl's squinted blue eyes starred out of the window. "She'll be there Daryl." He told him slowly as he looked straight again. Daryl grunted, biting his dirty nails.

Rick needed her to be there…almost as much as Daryl did. Piper had saved Carl and him…most likely a few of the others by pulling so many of the walkers away from camp. She was like a damaged little sister that he had come to care for.

They pulled up to the highway and Daryl was out of the car in seconds, scanning the area and trying to find signs of life. The bugs hummed in the field and wind rustled through the tree branches. He and Rick began to search the cars quickly, weapons raised.

Rick frowned as he came to the cars where they had met when leaving the farm, the place he had seen the hard redneck lay his jacket as an offering to the beautiful little girl. "Daryl…" He called over to him, lowering his gun.

Daryl furrowed his eye brows as he walked over and looked at where he had lain his jacket. It was gone now, replaced by the body of a walker. He frowned as he looked around, not seeing the jacket anywhere. "She was here." He snarled angrily. He had missed her by such a narrow window but it looked like it had rained in the time they had been gone, washing away any of her light steps that he would have been able to track. He growled in frustration and looked at Rick, whose face was solemn and hard as he looked at the walker body. "We fuckin' missed her!"

Rick felt sick looking at the walker body. It was the first time he had felt sick because of one of them in a long time. Silently it wasn't the body that really made him sick. "It says something." He muttered, turning away.

Daryl frowned harder and leaned over the body, seeing the message carved into its flesh. He had to use his shirt to rub some of the sticky black liquid away to fully understand it.

"_Left 4 Dead -P"_

"NO!" Daryl bellowed so loud that Rick cringed. The younger man flung the body of the walker off of the top of the car with rage, sending it skidding like a rag doll across the rough pavement, before stomping out towards the woods. "PIPER!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "GET YER STUPID LIL' ASS BACK HERE!"

Daryl leaned against the railing, panting hard with rage, grief and frustration. Why couldn't she have just stayed put? How could she think he would leave her for dead? How could he have left in the first place? He lifted his head, curling his lip as he turned back and stalked to the body with her morbid message on it with his eyes watering. He refused to admit that they might have been tears. It was rage, he told himself. He kicked into the body as hard as he could, breaking every bone in the corpse before he had his fill.

* * *

Piper leaned over a stream and refilled one of the empty water bottles silently. She had been silent for so long when HE had found her. She had almost forgotten what it was like. It seemed stranger to be silent when there weren't people trying to speak to her…trying to hear her voice. She remembered the look on her lovers face when she had first said his name, the breath he had tried to hide being released. She closed her eyes and tried to block the picture of his handsome scruffy profile from her metal vision.

It had been two weeks already since she had last seen anyone living. Walkers were one thing. She had seen and killed enough of them. Her body was coated in the dark sticky liquid that didn't ever seem to run totally off. She had returned to the farm and to the house that HE and she had shared for those blissful few days. No one had been there…she thought. She felt the ghosts of the people she had known walking the grounds, feeling as though she was just narrowly missing something or someone every time. They were just ghosts.

She shrugged off the angel vest and set it on the ground before removing her shirt with a shiver and dunking it into the icy water of the stream, scrubbing some of the blood away as she looked at the wings. He gave her that as her head stone and it would be. When she died it would be on her back. The dirty white appendages would carry her to hell. She shifted so that her ankle could rest in the water. It was still sore, still swollen but she had gotten used to the pain.

Sighing she pulled the shirt from the water and rung it out until it was wearable again, pulling it over her head and shivering at the chill that ran deep into her bones. She pulled the jacket over her again and clenched at the warm leather tightly.

She pulled herself from the ground and continued her trudge through the woods…better to keep moving than to stay still.

Her bright eyes darted up and she immediately pulled her knife over hand and her hatchet when she saw a real breathing man standing in front of her. She crouched into a defensive stance and the sight of him. Her eyes swiveled to the side when she saw several other live humans immerge from the woods and circle her.

"Hey there pretty lady." The first man said as they circled around her, trapping her into the tight ring. She moved with the men that she found most threatening, zoning in on her targets as she made a low hissing sound in the back of her throat. "What's your name sweetheart…what are you doing out here."

Piper curled her lip at him.

"What the hell? Where'd ya get that vest girly?"

Piper spun around at the vaguely distracting voice and the intensely familiar southern drawl. "Piper?" Laughed the deep voice coming out of the trees. "That ya, ya little bitch!?"


	48. Chapter 48

**gurl3677: I know. I'm sorry.**

**Emberka-2012: I think that for Piper its more the fact that she waited for two days on the open highway and no one came back for her. She thought they had abandon her.**

**jstarr713: Congrats on your Nursing assistant program! I hope you like it!**

**Kit-cat99: Ohhhhhhh its going to be just like everything else I like….dramatic and fucked up!**

**Caffiend04: Lol I actually like Merle! He does keep things going.**

**Thank you to JavaNut, piratejessieswaby, GatorGirl99**

_**Favorite Line: **__**"He left me for dead." She whispered, the pain from the last few weeks echoing through her voice.**_

_**Merle nodded at her with a crocked grin. "He does that."**_

Chapter Forty Eight:

Daryl lay with one arm behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of the prison cell. His eyes opened and closed slowly in memory, trying to block out his guilt and shame at losing her. He felt drained, unable to move. The constant anger and frustration had caught up to him by now and he couldn't stand to look at the pitying looks on anyone's face. He couldn't glance at Sophia or Carl without remembering that they were the reason that she had wanted to go back to the farm. Rick…Rick was the last person she had touched. It didn't even make him angry anymore. It just….hurt.

He had spent a week going everywhere he could think of, leaving the group for nights at a time to search. He went back to the farm…to the house they had lived at for that brief amount of time. Distracted, by the memories of them in that house, he had narrowly avoided some of their own booby traps. He had gone to the creek where he had first told her that he loved her, sat against the tree that he had propped her up against and held his face in his hands.

Nothing…he found tracks but he couldn't tell how old they were. Besides, they had been limping. He wished they were her but they were probably just a walker feasting on the flesh of the dead.

He closed his eyes again and remembered his name being whispered from her lips; her non linear words:

"Piper…My name is Piper."

"You're exactly the man that I think you are."

"I love you Daryl."

"I'll find you."

"I don't have a death wish."

He squeezed his eyes shut at the last phrase, casting his arm over his face and taking a deep, unsteady breath. Damn him…damn him for letting her get off that bike and leaving her. He was a sorry excuse for a man. He had been a fool to let her make him believe different.

* * *

"Holy shit that is you isn't it little girl?" The man laughed. His blue eyes stung at her and made her turn away and back to his circling men. They were too much like his brothers. He'd know that angel cut anywhere. Know the hunting knife that she gripped tightly and now confidently. The last time she had it held to his throat it had been less expertly…more clumsy rage and fear than anything else. Now it had his brother's grip to it.

He had to admit that out of all of the women in the world, his brother had managed to pick the perfect one to be his pet and be loyal to him. She was deceptively small and unnervingly beautiful. Things that threw a man off his game and made him weak. Merle knew better now though. He had made that mistake once on his first meeting. He wasn't likely to do it again. She was a beautiful, strong breed. He could use that.

"Calm down now." He told her. "We aint gunna hurt ya little beast…ya remember who I am?" He held his one hand up innocently as his stump, now fitted with a long blade hung non-threateningly at his side. He could see the wildness in her eyes as they darted around to his men.

"Merle Dixon." She said in a smooth voice, clearly still lucid for the moment.

He nodded but frowned when he saw one of his men moved to her side to grab her. "DON'T TOUCH HER!" He commanded but it was too late.

As the large man's hand connected with her arm, Piper lashed out and spun, swinging the knife up and around, ripping the man's throat wide open in a wide gaping hole. A thin layer of blood sprayed over her face and chest as his neck opened wide and head lulled back as the large gash ozed his life out.

"STAND DOWN!" Merle commanded the others who looked shocked and had their weapons and guns up. "I SAID STAND THE FUCK DOWN!" He laughed to himself as the others looked at the girl and at him nervously. "That's my brothers little dog." He watched her steps as she turned around in a circle looking at all of his men, her back arched. He could see the curve of her spine at her neck, bending under his brother's vest, shoulders working under the leather and wings. Danger clearly radiated off of her. "Take a step back from 'er."

Piper was breathing hard and shallow as she watched the men follow Daryl's brother's orders. She was enraged still…a rage fueled survival mode, ready to kill, aching for the violence. It felt good; right after so much anger and depression.

"Woo there girl…steady." Merle kept eye contact with her, following her steps and talking to her like a spooked horse. "Alright…yer alright tiny killer." He watched as she favored one leg. "Ya injured doll? It's alright…old Merle'll take care of ya. Where be my brother?"

Piper licked her lips as she listened to the voice. She knew it wasn't Daryl's but the deep southern drawl helped her come back to consciousness. "We got separated…two weeks ago now."

Merle frowned. "And lil Darylina didn't find his favorite little hunting dog yet?" He asked her carefully.

Piper frowned and furrowed her eyebrows though her heated green eyes stayed locked with his. "He's protecting the rest of the group." She told him, hoping that it was true.

Merle made a little satire of an apologetic sorry face. Daryl had let this little murderer go? Was he insane? She was clearly a formidable weapon. He watched as she looked around again, ready to kill his men if they got too close. "Coarse he is." He took a small step forward, watching as she didn't shrink back and didn't charge him this time. "Aint gunna hurt ya… gunna take care of my brother's favorite lil dancer."

Piper frowned. Merle was not to be underestimated but in all honesty she was exhausted and his voice was hypnotizing in her haze of fury and exhaustion. "You can't be trusted." She told him.

Merle chuckled. "Darylina trusted me darlin'." He told her, his voice a low murmur.

Piper narrowed her eyes at him. "You hurt him." She told him, firmly.

"And he hurt ya…"

Piper pursed her lips at him. "He left me for dead." She whispered, the pain from the last few weeks echoing through her voice.

Merle nodded at her with a crocked grin. "He does that." He murmured, seeing instantly that he was hitting a nerve. "Got me a group…better men than these in a town with a good strong leader. Aint me."

"Why should I trust you?" She asked him carefully, appraising every look he gave.

Merle chocked a laugh. "Cause I can always use a good killer like ya." The worst part was that she knew he wasn't even lying this time. Merle turned to his men. "No one touches this girl got me? She's my dog and she will bite." The men nodded quickly.

Piper frowned at the title but didn't say anything back right now. She was still hateful and angry. Pain was shooting through her leg and she knew that she needed help if she was going to survive. It was not the first time she had been called one of the Dixon brother's pets. She needed to put away her strength for a moment to survive. She couldn't take or outrun all of these men. "I'm not your bitch." She said to Merle as he held out an arm to her.

Merle chuckled. "No, ya were my brothers though. Wanna come or not?"

Piper sat on the table in a small infirmary in the town. It was idealistic…beautiful, untouched. She had seen the soft, tree lined streets as Merle and his men lead her into the town. It was a stark contrast to the rest of the world around her. As different from the world outside as the man walking next to her was different from his brother. Daryl was silent, fringed calm with passion bubbling just under the surface. Merle…well Merle Dixon would just not shut up!

"Looks like you dislocated it." The doctor said looking up at her face. "I'm going to have to reset it."

Piper frowned and shook her head negative, growling at him viciously and making the doctor step back.

Merle finally walked back over to them. "Here doc…she aint gunna let ya do it." He looked at Piper closely as she eyes the people around her. She was still on high alert. "Ya try and slit my throat again girly and yer dead."

She wrinkled her nose at him as if the idea of him even trying was a joke. Merle snorted and lifted her ankle with his hand right as another man walked into the room. All eyes but Merles turned to him and let him through. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. Why did all the men in this stupid state have blue eyes just like Daryls?! He looked clean…in fact now that she came to notice it they all looked pretty clean except for Merles group.

She looked back down at Merle, bracing her hands behind her as he gave a slow count. He didn't wait until three when he pulled. Everyone in the room cringed at the sound of moving bone. The blue eyed man watched as her eyes widened but she didn't make a sound of pain.

"Good dog!" Merle said patting her shoulder. He looked up at her and saw her green eyes looking behind him. He turned with a big smile. "Well hey there Boss man."

"Dixon." The man greeted back. "I'm surprised. You're not the one that I'd expect to bring back a woman…in one piece at least."

Piper tensed but Merle just laughed. "This aint no woman governor. This be my brothers dog."

The doctor moved over to her again. "I'm going to wrap this up for you alright?" He told her. She frowned hard at him, as if to warn him and Merle laughed.

"Just do it doc. She aint ever gunna give ya permission ta touch her." He looked back over at the Governor. "Minute?"

"Of course." The governor told him, still looking at the little girl.

Merle winked at Piper but with a non-lecherous smile on his face. He didn't see that girl as a woman. Sure she was pretty but she was a wild animal, a hunting dog. Daryl had seemed to wound her and he could use that. As he had said himself…he could always use a good killer.

Piper sat on a twin style bed in one of the rooms of a house in town. It felt weird to be in a town…in a room, on a bed. She had her ankle propped up on one of the pillows as she looked out the window and into the night, crossing her arms over each other and leaning against her knee. He fingers were itching for her hatchet. They had tried to take her weapons away. She had relinquished the hatchet but when they had gone for the old hunting knife she had pulled it and waited.

Merle had stepped in front of him. "Sentimental value son." He told the guard. "Ya aint gunna be gettin' that away from her."

She closed her eyes as she thought about it, thought about how true the words were while stretching her neck. It wasn't about the actions of the weapon anymore. It wasn't even about the anchor that it was to reality. It was Daryl's knife.

She ran the blade up and down on the new jeans that the doctor had given her to change into. They were a bit loose but she had found a belt and tightened them up easily.

Daryl Dixon. She tried not to think about him right now...not with his brother so close. Anything could go wrong if Merle found out that she wasn't just his brothers pet. She tried not to think about how much she missed him and how hurt she was that he would think that she was dead. She was angry yes…but it was out of pain. She wouldn't have given up on him…no. Not until she had found a body.

She looked up when she heard the door open without warning and Merle come in. "Hey there killer." He told her with a smile. Piper rolled her eyes at him making Merle chuckle. "Ya've gotten a lot better since the last time I saw ya."

"Thanks…I think." Piper muttered. "What am I doing here Merle? What is this place and what do you want?"

Merle leaned forward and looked at her closely. "I got an…opening on my team thanks to ya. Want ya to man up and fill it…well I guess bitch up in yer case."

"Pass." Piper said off handily, continuing to run the hunting knife up and down her leg.

Merle laughed at the quick response. "Whats wrong darlin'? Old Merle aint as good a master as yer lil Darylina? He aint here now. Ya need a new owner or yer just gunna keep killin at random…Ol' Edward got himself a taste of that today."

Piper gritted her teeth at yet another dog reference and leaned forward. "Okay let's get something straight Merle. Just because I used to be your brothers does not mean I'm yours now that we're separated. I don't know how it worked in your trailer park before all of this but you do not own me!"

Merle frowned at her. It was strange. She had no problem with ownership with Daryl but then again she trusted Daryl. She knew that Merle wanted something…Daryl hadn't wanted anything from her when he had first found her. That made all the difference.

"How bout I make ya a deal?" He muttered, leaning forward. "Ya work fer me and I help ya find yer precious master after?"

Piper leaned closer to him threateningly. Brining Merle to Daryl was NOT a good idea. She was upset sure, abandon…enraged but she was not going to bring the man who had abused him as a child back to the man that had saved her life…that she had loved…in some distant part of her mind that wasn't just trying to survive she still might. "If I wanted to find him…I'd do it myself." She lied.

Merle leaned back in his chair and frowned, rubbing his chin. If his fingers got any closer to his mouth it would have been too much like Daryl for her to stand. "How about a blond bitch than?" Piper cocked her head to the side, not understanding. "Governor got himself yer blond bitch and her nigga'."

Piper winced at his language but didn't react more than that. She searched her mind, eyes darting from side to side. "Andrea…you have Andrea?"

Merle smirked…there was the kinship that was going to get him what he wanted. Bitches always had sisterhood ta manipulate.


	49. Chapter 49

**Lphipps21: That's just the thing….we don't really know do we?**

**ChooseJoy: Thank you. I thought it was super emotional!**

**Dark-n-Twisty: They really do. Its sad.**

**Kit-cat99: I can't wait to write her and Michonne really together. I love strong women!**

**sdwafford: I live to shock!**

**Leyshla Gisel: We ladies need to stick together! Most of all in the ZA!**

**jstarr713: Piper probably already knows…I mean Merle works for him how good can he be?**

**Emberka-2012: That is exactly what she is to him.  
**

**Thank you to GatorGirl99, SaraLostInes, JavaNut and piratejessieswaby for also reviewing!**

_**Favorite**** Line: He had no family left…no Piper…no one waiting for him to come to bed.**_

**Chapter Forty Nine:**

Daryl stalked through the prison, gruff and stony.

His body hurt from the days in the woods, hunting. He knew that he was looking for game but his eyes kept darting around, looking for any sign of his long lost woman. He hadn't been sleeping well. He would roll over in his cot when he woke up and his fingers would clench at the blankets, wondering if the girl that was in his dreams would be back in his bed. She wasn't, she never was. He had lost her. She was gone and he hated himself and her for it.

"Daryl…" Sophia said softly, stopping his retreating steps.

He looked at her hard, cold rimming his eyes. He was doing what he had to do as he had promised her he would…but he wasn't going to care anymore. What was the point? It would only make the aching in his gut worse. "What?"

Sophia shifted on her feet and looked at him. "Do you think…do you think she'll come back this time?"

Daryl frowned. "Don't think so kid."

Sophia had tears in her eyes. "Is she dead?" She asked him, her little voice shaking.

Daryl pursed his lips together. All he could think was that she was lost. He couldn't think that she was dead…it didn't even enter into his mind. She could be…she could not be. "Don't matter." He told the little girl. "She's gone…she aint comin' back."

He walked away from the little girl as she began to cry…hard, tears streaming down her cheeks. He gritted his teeth with his back to her, trying not to remember Pipers face as she let out her silent tears. He remembered that even though it hurt to see her cry…it was still so damned beautiful. He refused to care anymore…refused to let these women get under his skin.

He had known when they began to sleep together and... develop that it would only be a matter of time until she left him. He had just never imagined it would be like this.

Even watching her every day with another man would have been better than this. He would be pissed, furious, jealous beyond belief but at least he would be able to watch her out of the corner of his eye. He would have followed her and watched her bath and swim, watched the line of sweat drip down her neck in the hot sun, remembered what her lips felt like on his skin.

He would have known she was alive.

Not like this...not for almost a month. This was torture.

* * *

When Piper opened the door to the room that Merle led her to, both Andrea and the African American woman she was with looked up.

Andrea's eyes widened right away, shocked. "Piper!" She said as she stood up quickly. Her new friend was in defensive mode, standing ready.

Piper put her slim finger to her lips, signaling for the other woman to be quiet as she walked past her and closed the curtains to the room, checking it quickly before walking back to the door and putting her ear to it, making sure that no one was listening to them.

"Piper what are you doing here?" Andrea asked her in surprise. "Where are Daryl and Rick?"

Piper winced at the sound of his name. "I got separated from the group. Was found by Merle and his men." Piper told her walking up to Andrea and holding out her hand in a peace offering. Andrea and she had fought the last time but that didn't mean that she didn't like her; wasn't going to do anything she could to make she her allies were safe.

"Merle?!" Andrea said in surprise. "Merle Dixon is here?"

Piper quirked an eyebrow at her, surprised that she didn't know. "He's working for the Governor." She looked over at the other woman who was glancing in between them with hard brown eyes, her arms crossed over her chest protectively. Piper instantly knew that she liked her…liked the hardness and the way her mind was visibly working.

Andrea shook her head, sending blond hair around her. "No…no its safe here Piper." She told the other shorter girl.

Piper narrowed her eyes at her before watching her friend shift. Clearly the woman was having her doubts. "You and I both know that anywhere Merle is isn't safe." She said quietly. "They want me to help them scout out a safe place…some sort of penitentiary. Get its defenses down, find out who's in it. Take out any obstacles." She licked her lips. "When I do they are going to let us leave." She glanced at her friend. "All three of us."

"Michonne." The other woman finally introduced herself.

Piper nodded. "Piper…but most of the time you are going to hear a dog reference when people refer to me." She tried to joke the last part, glancing at the door and knowing that Merle was still listening. "Here I brought something." She said quietly. Reaching down she retrieved a box cutter from her boot. "I know that they took away my weapon…probably yours too. It's not much but…"

Michonne grinned at her and took it. "It'll do. Thank you." Piper nodded at her as Michonne hid the blade in her clothing.

"Piper…I'm telling you. The Governor is fine." Andrea told her.

Michonne let out a doubtful snort mixed with derision.

Piper shook her head. "You and I both know that anyone who works with Merle is dangerous." She reminded her.

"You're going to work with him." Andrea said softly, looking at Pipers face as she locked eyes with Michonne who gave her a little nod.

Piper looked back at Andrea with a sadistic smile. "And we both know that I'm dangerous." She grasped Andreas hand for a moment, squeezing it. "Stay alive…at least long enough to get out of here." She told her before turning and leaving the room.

She closed the door behind her and looked up to see Merle and one of his men, Luke, standing against the opiate wall. She took a deep breath. "I'm in." She told him. She needed to do this. If they had any chance of getting out alive she needed to partner up for the moment. She could get away on her own if need be but despite the fact that room Michonne and Andrea in was bright and nicely furnished she couldn't miss the lock on the door or the way that their defenses were being stripped down. This was no less a cell then the ones at the prison they wanted her to scout.

Merle gave her a toothy grin. "Good Pup." He murmured, pushing forward and rubbing her hair like she was a new puppy.

* * *

Piper sat up in one of the tree's looking out over the prison as night rolled in. She leaned her head back against the trunk and glanced to the side, some of her curls clinging into the rough bark. She had picked a spot where she could see both the prison and Merles men. They were sitting around a tiny fire, sure not to be seen by the inhabitants of the prison.

She couldn't make out how many people were behind the walls, what they were armed with…who they were. She didn't want to do this but she needed to get Andrea and Michonne out of there. Once that was done they could go off…look for the others more if that is what they wanted. But it had been more than three weeks by now…chances of finding anyone in this kind of world after three weeks was slim to none. They had moved on by now…far on.

She closed her eyes and thought about Daryl again…thought about what it would be like if she did manage to find him. She was so angry still at being left behind. She wondered what it would be like if she ever saw his handsome face again…if his bright blue eyes ever stared at her, soft and stunned like when he had found her after her attack. What if she was close enough to run her fingers along his scruffy jaw line and watch him look down at her, still so confused by the intimacy she gave him willingly? Would she still be angry? Would she hate him? Would he hate her for being gone for so long?

She let a silent tear slip down her cheek and pulled her legs up to her, resting her chin on them as she looked at the prison. She pulled the jacket tighter around her and snuggled it around her face to hide her tears from the darkness. She wondered if anyone residing there was in love. If they had lost the person that kept them sane and human?

"Bitch!" Called out Merles voice. "Come on puppy." He stopped at the base of the tree, whistling at her like she was a dog. She rolled her eyes and pushed the tears away so that he wouldn't see them. "Come down pup. Time fer yer supper." He patted his leg and smirked to himself.

"They're about to switch rotation." She called down to him, knowing from watching the night before. They wanted to know if it was the same routine every night. She watched as a lean shadow came into the dim guard tower and the first one, bulkier and darker got up and left.

She watched as the shadow remained standing, bracing their hands on the frame of the window. It hunched for a moment before lowering itself into what she assumed was a chair.

"Same time." Merle muttered with a nod up at her. "It'll make em that much easier ta get at."

Daryl braced his hands against the window and looked out into the night. He offered to take night shifts. He had no family left…no Piper…no one waiting for him to come to bed. Was she still alive out there? He wondered. Was she missing him like he would never admit that he was missing her?

He let out a shaky breath in the emptiness of the room before lowing himself into the chair, his eyes drifting over the tree line, not knowing that they were so close to each other…but still so far away.

Piper sat with Merle, Luke and Curtis around the burning embers of the fire, watching them eat more than he was eating herself.

Luke looked up at her as she leaned back and glanced to her side at Merle, seemingly studying him. If Merle felt it he didn't let it on. "Merle's brother anything like him?" He asked her.

Piper glanced over at him but didn't say a word. She didn't talk about Daryl or anything else to these people. It's not that she was any better than them…far from it. She was just as vicious, just as much a killer as she was sure they were. She just knew how to keep her mouth shut about the things that she had done. For the past two nights the men had been bragging about their conquests, raids, kills and females.

That was the reason why Andrea hadn't known that Merle was there. They were the silent ones of the group of survivors... un seen, unheard. They took care of business when it needed to be done; did the dirty work that needed to be done that no one else would know about. It made sense. You couldn't have a town like that without having the fridge people like them watching out over it.

Merle laughed when she just looked down before gripping onto her shoulder with his large dirty hand. "Oh Pup…what can we say about my lil brother Darylina?" Piper glanced over at him and he could clearly see the hurt in her face. "Abandoner? Traitor…how 'bout that he's just a pansy."

Piper shook Merle off roughly at the sound of Daryl being mocked and made fun of. "He a good, strong man." She murmured, looking off into the forest as if he could come out of it.

Merle quirked an eyebrow at the tone she was using, the softness that came from it. "Aint never told me why he gave ya that jacket girly. He was mighty fond of that thing."

Piper bit her lip and looked at Daryl's brother who actually did look like he was curious. "He thinks I'm dead…I think he left this as a grave stone."

Merle frowned, knowing his brother. He wouldn't have let someone like this go so quickly. He had always been the follower but when Daryl had found Piper he saw how he reacted towards her. It wasn't that he just wanted in that pussy. He possessed her. He wouldn't let her go until he knew she was dead. Like buried her himself in the ground dead. "That right…" He muttered, knowing that he wasn't going to tell her that.

"Probably just got sick of that pussy." Luke laughed.

Pipers eyes shot to him and her lip curled, making him jump back a bit and look uncomfortable. Merle laughed and slapped her shoulder. "Aint like that wit them." He grinned and gripped the back of her neck, giving her a little shack and his fingers curled around her nap. "This little one was just his tiny killer."

"Oh whatever!" Curtis chuckled. He looked at Merle who was shaking his head and laughing.

No way Daryl would ever make a move on a girl like this. His brother was insecure, unsure…wouldn't know what to do with a woman besides give her a quickie in the back of the truck and then take off before she could sit up.

Curtis gestured to Piper with his fork, beans still speared on it. "You can't really believe that a man would say no to that." His eyes ran over her body quickly as Merle narrowed his eyes at him and Piper reached for her knife.

"She'll ripe you apart boy." Merle told the other man as he forced her hand down. "And I'll enjoy watching…aint that right Pup?"

"Shut up!" Piper yelled at all of them. "Jesus Christ I have never met three men that talk so much in my life!" She ran her hands through her hair angrily as they all stared at her, never having heard her be so loud. "Okay…let's just all sit here and play the quiet game so I don't have to rip all of your throats out…" She told them sternly…like a mother commanding a group of children.


	50. Chapter 50

**Melanie, ****Jenn, ****JavaNut**** and ****piratejessieswaby****: Aww I know. I feel so guilty for keeping them apart.**

**Leyshla Gisel****: Lol I think that's part of the reason why Merle likes her! **

**Kit-cat99****: Lol I just love the quiet game! **

_**Favorite Line: Fucking give her back to me!**_

Chapter Fifty:

"You seem different lil dancer." Merle said, walking up to the tree she had chosen as her place to sleep. He leaned against the trunk and propped his foot up casually.

She looked down as he lit up a stale cigarette and brushed her hair out of her face. "So do you." She said calmly, leaning her head against the bark and closing her eyes back up. Part of the reason she had chosen to sleep up here was because she knew none of the men could climb it. Merle she wasn't so worried about. He did seem different…less lecherous towards her. But maybe that was because he had now seen her kill.

"Sober now." He muttered with a little half laugh. "Can't say it's by choice but whatever."

Piper gave a nod, keeping her eyes closed and leaning her head back. "I'm sane now…sometimes."

Merle chuckled, causing her to smile at the guttural sound. It reminded her so much of his brother. "Sometimes." Merle laughed. "Well that's what's important I reckon."

"Knowing does seem to be half the battle." She pursed her lips together. "Your brother did it to me…helped me…a lot."

Merle grunted. "Want ya ta know that I aint gunna do ta ya what I was doin' before." He muttered. "Don't expect ya ta trust me…but I aint gunna rape ya or nothin'."

Piper looked down at him. "If you…or any of your men even try, I'll kill you all." She told him, making him look up at her with a big grin.

"I bet you would…no worries Pup. Ya can trust me."

Piper frowned. The only person she could really 100 percent trust was Daryl…and he was gone now, leaving her behind like the discarded corpse she was. "I'll never trust anyone so completely again." She told Merle solidly.

Merle frowned. He knew that anger. Daryl had left him behind as well, chosen a group of strangers over his own flesh and blood. Now he had done it again with this girl that seemed to be struggling with her humanity. She was loyal to him and Daryl had let her go. It was not a good call. Merle shook his head. He was pissed at Daryl for both.

* * *

Daryl stalked along the fence the next day, looking at his boots and holding his cross bow. His eyes had dark circles around them. He had the morning after his watch to sleep but it had been restless. He's tossed and turned, throwing himself off the cot at one point and waking himself up. He was actually glad about it. He'd been dreaming of her, of her soft lips as she kissed his neck and used her index finger and thumb to trace circles along his stomach.

The sweet memory dreams like that one were almost as bad as the ones where he walked into their old tent at the farm and she was lying in bed waiting for him…cut into a million pieces and bleeding all over their blankets. Her green eyes starred up at him like when he had found her, full and alive…but dead at the same time.

He kicked the dirt hard and tried not to think about it, continuing his rounds around the fences. They had blocked off all but one gate on the other side of the prison compound but he still kept a close watch on the woods around them. There could be a million different things out there hiding in the trees. A million unknown threats.

Looking up at the trees he stopped walking when he saw rustling, raising his bow and watching. It was a deer…it had to be from the way it moved, easy, fluid, barely disturbing anything around it. He could shoot it through the fence and then move around to the gates to get it. He frowned when he saw the figure dash, catching a glimpse of white on faded black leather. He let out his breath and dropped the bow to the ground, running towards the fence and gripping the chain link. "Stop!" He yelled. "STOP!"

Piper stopped her run, skidding in the leaves on the ground with her momentum. The moment she had seen that there was someone coming she had dashed into the woods, not paying attention to who it was or what they looked like. But that voice.

Holding her breath she slipped out of the woods and into the small clearing in between the chain link fence and the forest. Her little boot clad feet indented the warm grass. The sunlight shone around her and Daryl knew that he had never seen something so perfect in his life.

Daryl gripped the wire so hard he was sure he was going to cut his hands open. Desperately he looked up at the barbed wire, knowing that he couldn't get over it. He looked back at her as she slipped into the clearing, his heart pounding in his throat.

"Piper…" He breathed, a horse chocking sound in the otherwise silent air. There were leafs in her hair from running through the forest and her big bright eyes held a hazed over quality to them as they looked at him, shocked, numb.

There he was…she had been watching them for two days now. She had been scouting out this prison with no idea that her adopted family was in it, plotting how to take it from them. She couldn't move anymore, couldn't think. All she could do was stand there and stare at him, her eyes filling with tears and sadness. He had been here the whole time and hadn't…found her. He couldn't have even been looking that hard.

She stood a few feet away from the fence, stopping and breathing hard. Daryl knew that he was panting too, aching to reach out and touch her. "Come closer girl…" He rasped. She shook her head negative and he felt his throat closing up…remembering her message on the body. "Piper!" He begged as she tore her eyes from him and looked back at the woods.

Piper felt her lips and hands shaking as she slumped her shoulders and pulled his jacket from her body. She tossed it to his feet on her side of the fence with force. Daryl tensed and starred at it for a moment. "Take your head stone." She told him. She meant it to be a hiss but it came out a trembling, forlorn sound.

Daryl let out an angry breath. "We went back fer ya Piper! I went back fer ya!" He growled at her, gripping hard on the barrier between him and the only thing he wanted. "WHY DIDN'T YA JUST STAY PUT!" Piper closed her eyes as she heard the angry, hurt words. He could see her holding back from him, see her shaking. "Come here…please." He found himself almost begged her, his body pressing against the fence in desperation.

Piper couldn't hold back anymore, taking the last few steps towards him. His rough, thick fingers maneuvered through the metal to touch her face as their breaths lingered together. She felt herself start to tear up. She pushed it away angrily. "I waited for two days…I went back to the farm." She whispered as she combed her fingers through his messy facial hair. "You weren't there…you never came." She winced as if remembering it caused her physical pain.

"Christ girl…" He murmured low as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I came back fer ya…I really did. I looked everywhere… I swear it." He squeezed his hand through the rungs and pulled at her hair to get her closer.

"I thought you left me." Piper found herself whispering, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.

Daryl shook his head furiously. "Never…I'd never leave ya girl. I-" He stopped and tensed as his eyes opened and he saw a man coming out of the woods behind her. "Merle?" He was shocked, confused.

"Well look at what the Pup found!" Merle laughed, taking in the way that his younger brother yanked at the girl, as if he could draw her through the fence. He frowned at it…at the intimacy that he saw his brother exhibiting. His hands clenched at the girl, tangling in her hair. He was sure if he could he would draw her behind him. "Well look at that lil brother… yer dogs out but yer the one locked in the cage."

Daryl looked down at Piper sharply as her face turned to look at his brother. "Run." He told her sharply. She didn't move, just continued to look in between him and his brother. "Piper, run!"

Merle stepped closer and yanked Piper away by the back of her neck. Her slender body was pulled away from him and Daryl let out a growling sound of anger. All of his nerves were on fire, watching as his brother leaned closer to her. He was shocked and confused as to why she would let him. Why he was allowed to touch her?

Piper felt his hot breath race across her skin as Merle growled in her ear, her eyes staying locked with Daryl's furious blue orbs. "Ya wanna save the blond bitch yer coming back wit me Pup." Merle muttered low so that his brother couldn't hear over his enraged panting.

Piper swallowed down and nodded.

"GET YER HANDS OFF HER MERLE!" Daryl screamed, clenching the fence and shaking it hard. He watched as his brothers thick hand gripped the back of her slender neck, thumb running up the center of the creamy plain.

"Say bye now puppy." Merle said louder.

"LET 'ER GO!" Daryl's infuriated voice demanded. "PIPER GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Piper watched Daryl's entire body shake as he beat at the fence, knowing that he couldn't get to the gate in time. She looked up at his brother. "Let me say goodbye." She whispered, voice shaking.

Oh dear lord, Merle thought. He'd been wrong. She was not his brothers pet; not anymore. Something had happened. Something that was making his brother fly off the handle like he never had before. And that was saying something. He released her neck and watched as she moved back over to Daryl as the younger man panted and gasped, hands grasping for the girl again.

"Sush…" Piper whispered to him, reaching up and stroking his bottom lip with her index and middle finger as he continued to shake with intensity. "Sush Daryl…I have to go with your brother now." He shook his head and she felt a tear slip down her cheek. "Yes…it's okay…I'll be okay."

"Don't Piper…don't." He rasped, fear and panic flooding through him. He didn't understand, didn't know why she was leaving or what was going on. He grabbed a clump of cork screw curls and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers awkwardly through the barrier harshly, demandingly.

Merle rolled his eyes before grabbing her by the back of the shirt. "Okay that's enough lover boy." He tore Piper away again, separating their lips as he practically threw Piper in front of him.

Daryl felt his eyes watering and burning as they walked away, his brother glancing over his shoulder and shaking his head at him. He gritted his teeth when he saw his brothers one hand grasp onto her tiny fingers. "NO!" He screamed, frustrated and confused. "GIVE HER BACK! MERLE! FUCKING GIVE HER BACK TO ME!"

He clasped down onto the ground once the two people he had lost in his life were gone together, letting out angry tears through screams and bellows of intense hatred.


	51. Chapter 51

**LoyalAsAViking: Okay so when I read your review I felt so damn guilty for making him go through that! I have to keep reminding myself that he's a FICTIONAL CHARACTER to keep from feeling like I somehow destroyed him! Cries!**

**Emberka-2012: Its time for a new plan!**

**Melanie: OMG I don't know! That's a good question!**

**DeviantDames: Haha when I read your review I just got this big dopey grin on my face and started chanting "TEAM PIPER! TEAM PIPER!" Over and over again!**

**Kit-cat99: Yeah he cried when Merle got left behind so I'm just assuming that he would lose it if he saw Piper getting taken away again. The feelings towards Merle…that's probably reflective of me too. I have this love hate thing going on with Merle's character. I don't know why but some big part of me wants him to be redeemed.**

**Lphipps21: No she could never love Merle like she loves his brother but I think that they are coming to care for eachother in a weird sort of way.**

**coconutcarter: LOL! I told Gurl that you said that and just started cackling evilly!**

**Caffiend04: Thank you! I have been thinking about this scene for a long time. Its part of the reason why I had to keep them apart for so long just because of how dramatic it makes it.**

**gurl3677: I know Twinny! There's just too much!**

**Thank you to VoodooInTheTARDIS, jstarr713, JavaNut, Leyshla Gisel and piratejessieswaby for also reviewing.**

**Please everyone don't worry. ITS GOING TO BE OKAY! Please review if you are still reading this story! I update based on reviews!**

**Favorite Line: There are too many in this chapter!**

Chapter Fifty One:

Merle frowned as he looked over at Piper sitting the passenger seat of the truck. Luke and Curtis sat in the bed of the truck behind them…window closed. She was quiet. Well she was always quiet but this was a tensed quiet. Her head leaned against the window as she watched the woods speed by. Her head thunked against the thick glass whenever he hit a bump but she didn't seem to care, lost in thought about his brother.

Merle was pissed at the younger Dixon. He had left him behind for that group of ass holes. Piper had been there sure, and at the time he was sure that was part of the reason and hated her too. Now he found he actually liked the little animal.

"Should've told me ya were my brother's woman." He told her sternly, his voice gruff as he processed the new information.

Piper frowned and looked at him. "You already knew."

Merle slammed his hand down on the wheel, causing the truck to jerk. "Knew ya were his dog! Not that ya fucked him!"

Piper kicked her foot up on the dashboard. "You never asked." She shot back.

Merle shook his head in frustration. "I'm askin' now. Are ya his woman?"

He glanced over as she gave a slow nod. "I was…I **am**." She told him. He was right, she would never be rid of him and she never wanted to be. He was always inside of her, part of the reason she was what she had become.

Merle nodded curtly. "Alrighty than." He glanced over at her. "Looks like ya need a new plan."

Piper glanced over at him and watched his face, wondering what was going to happen now. Merle liked her. She knew that. But she knew that he had to be mad at his brother for leaving him…just like she had been.

"He went back for you, you know…in the city." Piper told him. Merles eyes shot to her and he snorted deeply. "He really did. With Rick, Glenn and T-dog. He was really pissed off that they had left you. He tried to attack Rick."

Merle looked at her again. "Don't matter none. He didn't find me. Just like he didn't find ya lil pup."

Piper leaned back and gave a nod. No she had found him…just like she would again. She closed her eyes and felt Merle glancing at her from time to time. She didn't miss the way that he said 'lil pup' with actual affection mixed into the demining words.

She glanced over her shoulder to the men in the back of the truck, lowering her voice. "Are we still going to attack the prison?" She asked him. Merle nodded, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Even with your brother in there?" She knew that he wouldn't care about the others but Daryl? She didn't know what he wanted to do with Daryl now. He was still his brother. He could either want to not let him die or rip him apart himself. It was probably closer to the second but who knows? Her understanding of human nature wasn't very good…and it was worse in this new world than it ever had been before.

Merle frowned and glanced over his own shoulder to make sure Luke and Curtis couldn't hear them. "Governor aint gunna give up on a safe place like that." He muttered low to his hunting dog. "And them two hot shot pigs aint gunna let it go so easy."

Piper grinned to herself at the memory. "One cop." She told him and he looked at her questioningly. "I killed Shane."

Merle looked at her in shock for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Holy shit girly…ya dont want my brother AND me ta fall fer ya, ya better stop being such a good girl fer us Dixon boys!"

Piper stop smiling at the mention of Daryl again, remembering his tormented face as she had left him there, helpless to stop her. His screams echoed in her ears for Merle to give her back to him, for him not to touch her. She had been able to hear his screaming all the way back to the camp, echoing like an angry god through the woods.

"I'm going to get back to him Merle." She told him solidly. "Nothing is going to stop me."

Merle looked back at her wild eyes as they looked out the front windshield. There was a monster in there, a wild beast. She would rip apart anyone and anything in her way. He knew could clearly see that. "Don't doubt that Pup. Not one fuckin' bit."

* * *

Daryl scanned the ground as he rode through the woods on his motorcycle, watching the tracks moving along through the dirt. He had found their camp sight, well the small fire that had been in the middle of it. Everything else had been torn down hastily, knowing that he would come for them. Oh god would he come for them. Merle had no idea what he was messing with…and Piper? What was she thinking?

He had stalked around the camp looking for signs of her captivity. She had to be a captive right? He narrowed his eyes as he looked around the trees, finding foot prints in the dirt that he knew well. She had jumped into the trees to sleep. She was moving around on her own…she was not a captive.

He was confused…completely. What had his brother done to her? How could she have just left with him again? There was something else going on…something that was keeping her with Merle. He remembered what she was like when he had first found her…how pliable she was to him. He hadn't taken advantage…not really but he knew that others might have. He prayed that it wasn't like that with Merle.

He pursed his lips, not really wanting to think about what it could be and climbed back on his bike, following the tracks.

* * *

Piper stood behind Merle as they reported back to the Governor. She shot Merle an ugly look as he told the leader about his brother, leaving out that Piper was the enemies woman. He wanted her still…liked her. He didn't want to see her destroyed.

"Me and the Pup here…it aint a good idea fer us ta be the ones planning the attack." Merle told the leader.

Piper pursed her lips. It was safer for them to be the ones doing it for exactly the reason he was telling the Governor it wasn't. If they planned the attack…if Merle did and she could get him to tell her, she had a better chance at derailing it.

"Boy knows us." Merle told him. "Knows how we think."

"Then you do the opisate." The Governor told him, glancing at Piper with her arms crossed over her chest.

The girl never spoke in groups. It was eerie for him and the men to watch her sometimes. Some of the men whispered that she was half walker already. Her silence wasn't a sign of weakness or letting others take control. It was a strong silence that made them all watch her reactions and wonder what she could possibly be thinking.

"Why would he know how she thinks?" He asked.

Merle looked over his shoulder at Piper who had herself propped up against the wall. She was looking down at her feet, glancing up at them from time to time from under her dark eyelashes. He frowned at her for a moment. "She was part of that group…but they lost her." He said strongly.

The Governor stood up and took a step towards her, making Piper push herself off the wall to attention. "And you're just going to let us take the prison from them…just like that."

Piper frowned and starred at him. Hell no she wasn't! But saying that right now would do nothing to help them or herself.

Merle cleared his throat slightly when Piper didn't respond. Luckily it wasn't unusual so the Governor and his men didn't see it as an attack. "She'll do what I tell her ta do." The older of the Dixon brothers said coolie. "Aint that right Pup?"

Piper pursed her lips together as she continued to stare at the Governor. His blue eyes burnt into hers, searching for something but she held as fast as she could, trying not to think about anything that would show weakness…trying not to think about Daryl or what would happen to him if they attacked. She pulled her eyes away as she felt pain erupting in her chest after seeing him today. She looked at Merle and gave him a little nod.

Merle followed Piper down one of the halls after the meeting as she went to clean up. He frowned hard as he stomped after her. Sure he was having mixed feelings about her. He liked her and hated her at the same time. He didn't want to like her. She was his brothers little bitch, but at the same time he was growing fond of his new little weapon. He was intrigued by how vicious she was. He liked it and wondered what the hell had happened in the world where his brother could get a beautiful killing machine like that. At the same time he was draw to take her away from Daryl out of anger. Neither feeling was outweighing the other at this point.

Reaching out he grabbed her knife away before she could react and gripped her face with his hand, pushing her into an alcove and against the wall hard. True to form Piper didn't scream as she glared at him, her little chin in his hand.

"No!" He told her as she struggled for a moment. "Ya listen up girly!" He hissed at her low. "I know ya aint good at talkin' ta strangers but when that man asks ya a question, ya fucking answer!"

"I don't have to talk to anyone I don't want to." She said, remembering some of Daryl's first words to her after she had spoken.

Merle frowned at her gripping tighter onto her chin. "My brother might have let ya get away wit insulting dangerous men but I aint! Yer used to being the crazy person but let me tell ya pup, that man is way more dangerous than ya are. Got me?"

Piper nodded slowly. "I won't do it." She told him forcefully, even though his fingers were still biting into her chin. "I won't kill them."

Merle shook his head at her. "I fuckin know that but ya let that weakness pass on yer face again and we're both dead. He talks to ya and ya lie. Understand?" Piper wrinkled her nose at him in distaste. "Shit what's my brother been teachin ya if ya aint gunna be able ta lie!" He suddenly stopped as he felt something sharp press into his ribs. Glancing down he saw her tiny hand holding an open box cutter to him, pressing into his white shirt.

Piper watched as he glanced back up at her. "I've shown a lot of restraint the past few weeks Merle. I've let you touch me and whistle at me…but if you keep threatening me I'm going to be bringing your intestines back to Daryl in a plastic bag."

Merle rolled his eyes at the dramatic words but looked down at her seriously. He finally released her and Piper reached down to pick up her knife. He stepped on it, holding it to the ground. "Ya wanna get back ta yer little Darylina, ya do what ya gotta do!"

Piper frowned as she watched him walk away, grumbling to himself about her being a stupid bitch. She rolled her eyes at how similar he and Daryl could be even though they were so different. Retracting the blade in the box cutter she made her way towards Andrea and Michonne's room.

Both women looked up when she quietly opened the door and shut it behind her. Michonne leaned against the window frame, looking more irritated and violable since the last time she had seen her. Andrea just looked at her in surprise.

"Tonight…after it gets dark. Let's get the fuck out of here." Piper told them quietly.

Andrea stood up and stepped closer to her, Michonne following her quickly. "What about your deal with the Governor?" She asked quietly.

Piper swallowed down and looked at back and forth in between them. "Change of plans." She wanted that to be the end of it but their questioning looks pushed her on. "The rest of our group…they're at the prison they want me to help take down. I can't go through with the deal and expect them to survive. Plus…" She paused and looked at Andrea. "Daryl saw me scouting this morning."

"Shit…" Andrea muttered.

Michonne looked at them both, confused. "What? Who's Daryl?"

Andrea sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Only probably the best tracker left in the entire world." She muttered.

Michonnes eyebrows furrowed. "Do we need to worry about him?"

Piper said 'yes' at the same exact time that Andrea said 'no' and Michonne frowned at them.

Piper licked her lips. "He saw me and if he thinks I'm being held against my will, after a month of not seeing me…" She looked at Andrea who frowned as she connected to dots.

"Dammit." Andrea muttered looking at her newest friend. "He's Pipers…I don't know Piper. What would you call him?"

"Shit if I know…man I guess?" Piper muttered. She rubbed the back of her head. If he called her his woman that meant he was her 'man' right?

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Pipers his girlfriend…if he thinks that she's in trouble, he's going to come in here guns blazing. He'll kill…everyone."

Piper nodded vigorously, remembering the piercing words 'give her back to me!' being screamed through the dense forest. "We might not even have til dark…just be ready."

"They let us wander around during the day but at night they lock us in with a guard outside." Andrea told her.

Piper frowned. "Does the guard have the key?"

"Probably." Michonne muttered.

Piper nodded. "I don't mind getting a bit bloody for it." She smirked. No she didn't mind at all. "Just be ready for me."

She slipped out of the door with a deep breath, her eyes closed while she thought. Slowly she began to move her feet again. She walked down the hallway. All she could hope was that Daryl didn't make it here before she made it to him. If he did some in here, guns blazing, as Andrea said, he wouldn't stand a chance. There were just too many men.

She stopped when she saw Luke and Curtis standing in front of her, blocking her path. Glancing behind her she saw another man blocking her from that route. She let out an annoyed breath through her nose. "This really isn't a good idea guys." She said softly, reaching for her knife as subtly as she could.

"Don't even think about it." Luke told her, raising his gun. "Governor wants to see you Piper. Maybe you'll be more chatty this time."

Piper closed her eyes and took a little breath. "Look…you really don't want to keep me here for long. Someone is coming and he is really REALLY not going to be happy if he finds me at gun point."

Curtis shook his head. "You can tell it to the Governor pretty girl."

Piper bit the inside of her lip as he held the gun to her and reached for her knife, taking it out of the holster on her belt. She really didn't like being called 'pretty'.


	52. Chapter 52

**gurl3677: And he will kick your ass!**

**Aurora: Lol the nice thing about the ZA? No social nicilities. Someones being a dick you can threaten to carve them up.**

**Melissa: Bad reviewer! Just kidding. Always love you!**

**SpecialK: Its just nice to see the rage side of Daryl sometimes.**

**Mockingjay101: Thank you so much! I hope that you continue to like it. I don't think I really understood the full impact of what I did to everyone in chapter 50 until I got a billion PM's and reviews that people were crying.**

**Kit-cat99: Well you remember the important things like Piper! :P Maybe that is the reason. Plus I think if Merle sobered up and took responcilbity for letting Daryl get hurt when they were kids they could be a bad ass team.**

**SaraLostInes: Lol I was afraid to wait on getting the next chapter up after that one because I knew you all would jump through my computer screen and yell at me!**

**Leyshla Gisel: Lol she does like blood. FYI new chapters of Bake shop are up!**

**Caffiend04: Lol see I think that is why I like Merle. He can be both!**

**Thank you to JetNova, JavaNut, Emberka-2012, piratejessieswby, and DeviantDames for also taking the time to review. If you are reading this please review and tell me what you think! I get my validation from your reviews!**

**Favorite Line: _"Wrong Dixon."_**

Chapter Fifty Two:

Daryl slipped around the fences to the strange place. He didn't like this town…not at all. It wasn't right for something to be this perfect in the world anymore. Gardens of Eden in hell were never a good thing. He clenched his cross bow tight. If Merle and Piper were here as the truck tracks indicated than there was a pretty good chance that there was something brutal going on under the surface too. He watched as people settled into their houses for the night, eyeing a large house that stood out from the rest.

He frowned and looked around but couldn't find any more guards that had been on the perimeter of the town. He was going to find her tonight…find out why she was gone; why she had left with his own brother. He had to admit that he was jealous. No one was really allowed to touch her but him. Yet she had let Merle snatch her away from him. He gritted his teeth together at the thought. She wouldn't sleep with his brother…would she?

No. He pushed the thought away quickly, remembering how gentle he had to be with her until she was comfortable. Merle wouldn't take the time for that. But then why was she letting him touch her?

* * *

He frowned to himself as his gut rolled with jealousy and nerves before bending down into one of the bushes and watching.

"Sit." The Governor said with a calm gesture once Luke and Curtis brought her into the dimly lit office. He was seated in a huge leather chair. Piper didn't move and Luke rolled his eyes, giving her a little push forward. The Governor shook his head at the two men. "You may leave us. Wait outside. Piper here will need an escort later."

Piper eyes him as she sat ridged in the chair, frowning. The Governor glanced at her as the men left before moving to retrieve a glass from the table on the other side of the room. He poured a deep brown liquid into two glasses and moved back over to her, keeping a close eye on her the entire time. He sat on the front of his desk directly in front of her and held out one of the glasses to her. Piper reached out and took it without looking away from him, her green eyes hard but curious.

"Drink." He told her as he took a sip of his own.

Piper licked her bottom lip before leaning forward and sitting the glass on the dark desk next to him. "I don't drink." She told him quietly, calmly.

The Governor looked at her closely for a moment, making a grunting sound in the back of his throat as acknowledgement. "See, there is just so much I don't know about you Piper…for instance," He put his glass down next to hers and clasped his hands in front of him. "Why do you let Merle call you his dog…his 'Pup'?"

Piper frowned as she started to understand. This was about information, a more delicate form of torture than the ones she was used to. She just had to hope that it stayed delicate. She could feel the tiny weight of the box cutter tucked into her loose shirt and it was reassuring but at the same time she knew that she couldn't take out this man, Luke and Curtis with it. She shifted in her seat as the Governor waited for an answer. "I've been called worse." She murmured, playing with the hem of her shirt.

The Governor nodded. "All Merle has said was that you are good in a fight and that you were brought back to the group after being attacked. He's never said how."

Piper's eyes flashed with anger and hatred. "We don't talk about that." She told him and the Governor quirked an eyebrow at her.

"We?" He asked. "You and Merle?" She nodded. "Or you and his brother?" Piper frowned at him. "Luke told me about how you talked about him in the woods. 'A good strong man.' You said. Maybe he's the one that you talked to about it."

Piper gritted her teeth. "There's nothing to talk about." She ground out, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. That was it…no more talking.

"You…Piper," He laughed. "Are a horrible lair." He leaned forward. "And you want to know why I think you are lying? Because you're only loyal to Merle because you are loyal to his brother…because you still care about that group and you are going to do anything to protect them."

Piper watched him stand up again, taking a long sip of his drink as her nerves fired and muscles tensed perilously. She was a horrible liar and any lie she told would do little good to convince him that he was wrong…because he wasn't. She pursed her lips together and waited until he glanced back at her.

"Do you know what the Romans used to do to spies and traitors?" He finally asked her calmly.

Piper nodded slowly, licking her lips before she spoke. "They would put them into the collousum to be eaten by the lions." She said softly.

He laughed…actually laughed. Maybe Merle was right…maybe this man was more insane than she was. "And now I know something else about you," He said taking a few steps towards the door as she turned in the chair and stood up to watch him. "You are educated…well _were _educated." He opened the door to Luke and Curtis standing outside, waiting. "Take her back to her room. Stay with her and make sure Dixon doesn't do anything…stupid." He glanced at her again. "We'll take her to see my sister in the morning."

Piper frowned at the words as Luke and Curtis each took one of her arms. She yanked them away but knew that she wasn't going to be able to get away from all of them, not with guns and her knife tucked into their waist bands. For some reason the words the Governor spoke seemed much more threatening than they should have.

Curtis tried to grab her arm again as they pushed her into her room and followed her into the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. "Touch me again and I'll rip your throat out!" Piper hissed low, turning to them with her back arched and tensed.

Curtis shook his messy head of dark hair. "Not without your precious knife you aren't." He told her.

"I don't need my knife. I'll do it with my nails if I have to." She muttered.

Luke laughed. "Better watch your mouth sweetheart." Piper frowned at him as she saw a dark hunched over shadow move silently through the cracked doorway. Its bright blue eyes looked up at its target and then at her from under dark eyebrows and messy brown hair. She bit her lip and tried to hold in her cheer. "Dixon isn't here to watch your fine ass right now."

Daryl straightened up every muscle in his body tensing at the words and situation, raising his bow and sending a well placed arrow through the back of Luke's head with practice and ease.

Piper pulled the light box cutter out of her shirt as Curtis turned his head in shock. She pushed forward, jamming it under his chin and thrusting upwards hard. His eyes widened as he chocked out blood. The box cutter, sharp and shinning could been seen through his mouth from where she had driven it up into his jaw. "Wrong Dixon." She hissed with a small smirk as his blood flowed down her arm, warm and sticky and his eyes finally faded out.

Daryl frowned at her as she let the body drop to the ground after a moment. She looked up at him again with her wild eyes, taking in his tormented face for a moment. "Daryl…" She breathed voice loving. She went to take a step towards him, needing to be close after so long.

Daryl clenched his jaw tight before taking a fast step towards her and grabbing her by her face, pushing her into the wall with a thunk. He was breathing hard by this point. "Are ya fuckin my brother?" He growled at her.

Piper looked at him in shocked surprise. Daryl had never ever moved in on her like this before…and what kind of question was that?! "What? No! Ew!"

Daryl looked down at her, eyes running over the once familiar expanse of her face. It felt like it had been so long since he had really seen it. When she had come out of the woods that morning he had been in such a haze he had barely been able to take it fully in.

He took a breath as she reached up and grasped at his collar, pulling him in close and making his hand move from her face to the wall behind her. She kissed him like she never had before, passion and drive barely restrained. He grabbed her hip with his other hand and pulled her closer, invading her mouth with his tongue and striking at her with every ounce of aggression he had. Her fingers gripped at his clothing and body pressed against his needingly.

He finally broke away, both of them gasping for breath and needing move physical contact. "We gotta get outta here." He murmured down to her as she looked up at him, lips slightly parted.

"I've gotta get…"

"No. Right now!" He growled forcefully, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her over his shoulder as she let out a little yelp of surprise. There was no way he was even going to take the chance that he could lose her again.

"I have to get Andrea!"

He looked and the bump on his shoulder in surprise as she pushed at his back. "Andrea?" He said in surprise, letting her down and grabbing her arm so that she couldn't get too far away.

Piper nodded at him. "That's why I stayed…why I came back this morning." She watched his eyebrows furrow together. "You didn't think I'd just leave for no reason did you?" She nearly whispered.

Daryl frowned. No, first he thought that she had been a captive, than…well than he had thought the worst. "Where?" He muttered.

Piper bent down to retrieve the knife that Luke had taken from her. As she rose she pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed his lips lightly. "Thank you." She whispered as they slipped out the door, one of his hands still tightly gripping her, as if afraid if he let go, she would disappear.

The two of them snuck through the hallways with little resistance, no one was out and about at this late hour anyway. What they would really need to worry about was getting past the guards at the military fences surrounding the town. Piper pulled her self against the wall as she saw the guard standing outside the room where Andrea and Michonne were being held.

She bit her lip and glanced back at Daryl. She went to move forward, knife in hand and ready to slice yet another throat but Daryl's hand jetted out and stopped her. He frowned and put his finger to his lips as he snuck up behind the man, crouching low to the ground. Raising his bow he knocked the man on the back of the head with it.

"He's supposed to have a key." Piper whispered as she slinked over beside Daryl and began to search through his pockets. "Shit." She muttered, finding nothing.

Daryl made a low growl in his throat. He wanted them out of here right now, wanted her safe back at the prison and wrapped up in a blanket with him. He stepped back and hurled his foot out, kicking the thick door twice until the lock snapped and gave way.

"Daryl?" Andrea exclaimed.

Daryl glanced at her and the other woman quickly. "Well come on than! Aint got all day!" He told them as they began to run down the halls.

"How are we going to get all of us out of here?" Andrea asked as they pushed through the back door.

Piper gulped down and looked around, spotting Merles white truck. "Merle always leaves his keys in the glove box." She said pointing to the truck. Andrea and Michonne ran over to it and yanked the doors open.

Daryl watched as Piper frowned and looked back at the house. "What?" He snapped at her.

"I just…" She shook her head. "Nothing. Lets go." She said pulling at his arm towards where Andrea had retrieved the keys with a triumphant smile.

"Forgettin' something Pup?" Asked a voice from behind them.

Daryl spun around raising his bow as Piper turned. Merle gave them both a grin as he tapped her hatchet against his leg. Piper nodded and took a step forward only to find Daryl's arm stopping her. "Yeah…" She said quietly. "You."

Daryl glanced at her as his brother let out a big toothy grin. He rolled his eyes at his brother. "Put it down lil brother." He muttered as he took the few steps closer to them. He held out the hatchet to Piper before patting his brother on the shoulder. "That's a fine woman ya got there brother."

Daryl looked in between the two of them, not really knowing what to make of this whole thing. His brother was looking at Piper with possibly more affection than he had ever given anyone. Daryl frowned at him. He had wanted to find his brother, had been keeping an eye open since he was lost but this was something he had never expected: to find him and for his rage and vengeance to have already died down. He looked at his woman and knew that she must have had something to do with that.

"Ya be good now ya hear?" Merle told Piper as she slipped the hatchet back into her belt.

Piper took a little step closer to Merle, putting a hand over his heart for a moment. "Come with us."

Merle let out a little chuckle and glanced over her shoulder at where Andrea and Michonne were looking at them tensed. "Ol' Merle might be around in a bit fer ya Pup." He told her, patting the top of her head. "Gunna make sure no one finds them bodies and tracks ya'll down before ya can even make it back."

He looked at his brother for a moment before Daryl gave him a silent nod. "Come on Piper." Daryl murmured, tugging her away and into the bed of the truck.


	53. Chapter 53

**Broten: Oh my gosh! One night?! That's impressive!**

**SpecialK: Lol my pleasure!**

**jinxleah: Yay! I've missed you! I hope that you are still enjoying it. You have a gold membership to this story as one of my first readers! Big Daryl Piper Kisses for you!**

**DeviantDames and Melissa: Me too! As I said I have a massive love for Merle and with those new promo pictures of him and Daryl's half faces coming out I know I'm probably going to love him as much as Daryl.**

**Lphipps21: Lol new chapters of Bakeshop are up! Please review that one too! I live on reviews. They are like…oxygen!**

**SaraLostInes: Lol we all know how much I love the bloodshed. I did a photoshoot for a friend about a year ago where I got to be tattooing this guy to death. They sprayed me in fake blood and it just looked so awesome!**

**Emberka-2012: I definetly see how Daryl thinks that but at the same time we know that Piper was pining over losing Daryl the entire time. Merle is more like a brother…she might as well be a Dixon already.**

**irishartemis: Thank you for reviewing and I am glad to have a loyal follower take the time! I see all of the followers but its hard to judge how well the story is liked until I see the enthusiasm. Thank you!**

**Caffiend04: Lol that's what I would have said too! I love Merle. Like really LOVE him as a crazy character but not in the way I love Daryl….the throw up against a wall kind of way! :P**

**Leyshla Gisel: Always in love with a kissing scene. Review bake shop woman!**

**coconutcarter: I just have to say that I love you. Being told that Piper should be in the show just makes more happy and proud than I can possibly express. It is just such an affirmation.**

**Kit-cat99: ohhhhhh poor Daryl definitely doesn't understand that yet.**

**jstarr713: He loves her like a pet or a sister or something in between.**

**gurl3677: All for you :P**

**Thank you to Melanie, Guest, JavaNut, Mockingjay101 and piratejessieswaby for also reviewing!**

**Okay so that chapter I got the most reviews I have ever gotten for a chapter! I'm so happy not just because I love reviews (which I do like I love breathing) but because it means that you guys are just as emotionally invested in Daryl and Piper as I am!**

**CONGRATS TO NORMAN ON THE EMMY HE WON TONIGHT! BOOM! That's our man!**

**Favorite Line is Either: _"Keep going…"_ or _"Open your Fuckin' eyes Piper!"_**

Chapter Fifty Three:

Daryl leaned against the frame of the door watching Rick talked to Piper as Hershal checked the three women over. He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted on his feet as he watched the old vet look at her now reset ankle and wash away the blood.

"Michonne and Andrea will probably know more about the town's defenses than me…come on I'm fine!" She interrupted her own sentence to pull away from Hershal's hand as he lift her arm to wash away all of the blood on it.

"Aint her blood." Daryl muttered, not letting his eyes leave Piper. He wasn't going to take his eyes of her until he had to. If he did she might slip away again.

Piper looked back at him, her eyes locking with his. "Tomorrow I can go out into the woods at first light. Show you where our vantage points were. I don't know which ones they'll use or when they plan to attack but it will give us a better chance."

Daryl nodded before glancing at Rick. "Ima go with ya'll." He muttered. "She aint gunna be outta my sight when she leaves this prison." He looked back at her. "Ya understand?"

Piper nodded at him as Michonne looked on in confusion at the little girl she had come to know as a strong, able fighter bend under the desires of the redneck in front of them. Piper gave him a little smile. She knew different of course…Daryl had been freaked by losing her. He wasn't going to risk it again and she wasn't either…not so soon.

Rick ran his hands through his hair, looking over at Daryl. "We should triple up on watch tonight. Make sure no one is out there." Rick leaned forward and gave Piper a kiss on the forehead before walking past Daryl, patting his arm. It had been un ignorable how torn up the hunter had been by the lose of his woman. It was like having the old aggressive Daryl back half the time. The other half it had just been…depressing. But now that she was back it was like he had no idea what to do with her.

Daryl nodded, his arms still crossed over his chest as he starred at her with longing. He wanted this…wanted her. He didn't want to go on fucking watch! Not after she had been gone for a month and he had thought that he'd never see her again. But when he had gotten to that town after seeing her with Merle he had exploded. He'd slammed her into a wall!

She looked back at him over her shoulder with big green eyes, begging that he would come over to her. Piper needed him…really needed him right now. She needed to feel his warm breath on her cheek and know that she was locked back up in his arms. But he just gave her a little nod before looking down at his feet and slipping through the door. "I'll take first watch," He mumbled as he passed Rick.

Piper closed her eyes and frowned, taking a deep breath before glancing over and Michonne and Andrea. "Separation anxiety." She joked about her own shakiness.

* * *

Daryl frowned as he looked over the woods from his spot on the wall. Pulling strings out of his cloths he tossed them over the side angrily as he thought about his brother, about his brother and Piper, about the men that had her in that room, about her. She was down there…he hoped waiting for him. He didn't know what had possessed him when he had volunteered for first shift. He knew where he wanted to be and it wasn't out here in the cold.

He glanced up as he saw Rick approaching him, leaning on the railing.

Rick sighed and looked down into the yard. They had worked hard to get this place cleared out. Thank god Daryl had been so angry at the time…it had definitely aided to the fight. He looked down at Daryl with a frown. "Go." He murmured. "I'll take a double watch."

Daryl frowned and looked down at the ground under them before pushing himself up without a word and retreating back into the prison. He had selected a cell farther away from everyone else's when they had first arrived, hoping to hide at least some of his anger and torment. Glancing into it he saw that it was still empty. He hadn't told Piper where it was…in fact he had barely said anything on the way back, just sitting her in between his knees as he gave Andrea directions on how to get to the prison. She hadn't tried to say much either, satisfied with leaning her head back on his chest and closing her eyes as she inhaled his scent and warmth once more into her body.

He finally found the cell where Andrea lay asleep, Michonne was awake keeping watch, and Piper sat against a wall with her eyes closed, knees drawn up to her chest.

Michonne frowned as he stepped into the cell. "She's sleeping."

Daryl frowned at the finalizing tone she used. "She don't sleep without me." He muttered.

Michonne raised an eyebrow at him. "She's been doing it the entire time I've known her." She didn't know this man…didn't know how to react to him. All she knew was what she had seen of Piper. She had never seen her weak, never seen her scared. She'd seen her cold and angry…that was all. She had most definitely never seen her interact with Daryl Dixon. She assumed it would be like how she interacted with his brother.

"Well she don't have ta no more." Daryl snapped. "She's my woman, get outta my way."

Piper frowned as she listened to the conversation with her eyes closed. She finally opened them to see Daryl walking over to her. She lifted her eyes to him as he stood over her one hand held out. "Come on girl…time ta come home." He murmured down to her tenderly.

Piper reached up and took his hand slowly, feeling the warmth of him and his rough fingers gripping around her hand, engulfing it totally.

Daryl led her back to his cell, farther away from the others, his hand clasping her wrist tightly, unwilling to let her go for a single second longer. It was too much…everything. Too much time apart. Too much failure. Too much lose. Too much need. He pushed the faded blanket away from the doorway that he had hung long ago so that no one would see him weak because of her.

Finally he released her wrist and turned to her fully. They stood there in the dark in silence for a few minutes, just staring at each other in the dark. Piper felt her breaths becoming more shallow as she let her eyes run over his dirty profile and handsome face, the way his throat was working with unspeakable emotion and his eyes squinted at her as though he could barely believe she was there.

Daryl felt himself gulping down his emotions, none of them remotely close to anger anymore. He'd come to terms with his need for her…how much he had missed her when he thought he had lost her. He took a small step closer. "Piper…" He murmured deep in his throat.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut before she felt her fists jet out and strike at his rock hard chest. Her hair failed around her as she threw her whole body into the hit.

He stumbled back more from shock than actual pain. "Piper." He growled, again stepping forward.

She hit at his chest again, harder now but he stayed rooted in front of the beautiful little angel in front of him. Her hands hurt as she pounded his chest. "How could you!? How could you not find me!?" She felt her voice shaking as she said it, choking on her own words.

He was the best tracker in Georgia…in the world probably and he hadn't been able to find her!? What if someone else had found her in those woods? What if Merle hadn't turned out not to like her? What if another group of rapists had found her?

Daryl frowned down as he let her hit him over and over again, those silent beautiful tears streaming down her face. "Keep goin'." He whispered, closing his eyes to block out the visual reminder her sadness and betrayal but still having to absorb it.

At first her little fists stung at his skin and he knew it was going to be red from her assault, but there was more pain in the assault for her than there was for him. He took the abuse easily, letting her get it out as she grunted out her little hits. Finally she was barely using any force at all, her whole body shaking as she trembled with her own emotion, something that she had barely let out since she had been on her own.

She began to clasp down and Daryl grabbed her arms, pulling her into his sore chest, still stringing from her punches and slaps; his heart still aching. He felt her tears through his dirty shirt and her shaking slightly against him. "Shoulda found ya sooner…" He muttered into the top of her head smelling her hair again for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. "Shoulda never let ya go off. It aint ever gunna happen again." He pulled her face up to his, brushing away the tears with his thumbs and fingers before pressing his lips to the damp skin. He could taste her sadness and her desperation for his presence on her sweet skin. No one had ever loved him so much…enough to miss him.

Piper closed her eyes as he touched her, one strong arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close while his other soothed the hot liquid away. Her lips trembled as she looked up at him with glassy eyes. "I love you Daryl…so much." She whispered as his thumb ran across her bottom lip.

Daryl released a shaky breath as he watched her lips move with the words. He nodded slowly as he dipped his head down capturing her lips with his. She didn't hesitate to open them for him as her hands gripped at his shoulders, needing the physical contact. He drove his tongue into her waiting sweet mouth and kissed her slowly, exploring every edge, every warm smooth inch.

Piper clenched him tighter to her, determined to disappear into his warm hard body and never leave. "I need you." She whispered against his lips.

Daryl didn't need to be told again. He needed her too. Needed to be as close as they could get. He dragged her back to the bed and tossed her down against it, kicking on his boots quickly. He climbed into the coat with her and continued to kiss her hard, keeping his eyes open. He couldn't stand not seeing her…not for a second.

He fingers gripped his shirt and pulled it off his shoulder quickly, throwing it to the floor with her lips and tongue still connected with him. He grabbed at the hem of her shirt and broke away from her panting to strip it off of her creamy skin. His mind flashed to his brother rubbing his thumb up her throat. Daryl growled and pushed her down hard against the cot. His rough hand ran down her stomach before gripping the waist band of her jeans.

Piper tossed her head back at the feeling of his finger skimming her skin as he yanked the buttons of her jeans open.

"Look at me." His husky voice demanded as she arched her hips up and he hastily pulled her jeans off of her legs. He let out a hissing breath as her soft face tilted back up to him and her green eyes. He kept his eyes locked with hers, muscles clenching and retracting as he worked his belt off and worked at the buttons of his jeans. His lips, slightly parted, let out shallow, rabid breaths.

Even looking at her was a turn on after so long. Seeing her lying under him, completely naked again was more arousing than he could believe. He needed to watch her, needed to see her while they did this. He needed to know she was there, that it was her. His heated blue eyes traveled over her skin, licking his lips as he took in the creamy flesh that was all his to devour.

Piper bit her lip as he stripped off his jeans and threw them to the ground with more force than he had probably intended. He leaned over her taking her lips with his again, nipping at them mercilessly with his teeth. She whimpered against him and dug into the skin at his sides. He groaned at the feeling of pressing against her wet warm core and the way her stomach contracted against his when he touched her.

"Please Daryl…" Her sweet little voice whispered, begging him in a way he was unable to resist.

Gripping her hips hard in his rough hard hands, he held her tight as he slammed into her, watching her face and biting the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. She was still so tight, so warm and so perfect against him. Daryl arched his neck to the side and took in the feeling, beginning to thrust hard into the contacting muscles right away, his face contorting with unmistakable lust and pleasure.

Piper whimpered louder than she probably should have. He was bigger than she remembered, thrusts more purposeful and demanding after a month of being without her. She dug her nails into his lower back and ass as he devoured her mouth with his, drowning out her screams of pleasure.

Yanking her lips away from his, Piper threw her head to the side as her hips rose to meet his, rubbing and slamming against skin as both of their bodies demanded to be closer. She was panting hard by now. He'd never been this aggressive with her…this primal. It was amazing, his voice and breaths coming out gravelly from deep in his throat.

Growling he turned her face back to his and made her look at him, his heated blue eyes burning into hers as their noses pressed together and their lips panted against each other. He used the hand that wasn't holding her face in place gripped her hip and brought it up to him with the force he wanted. She cried out again, whimpering and his hand covered her mouth in an attempt to keep her quiet.

Daryl knew he was grunting hard by now as he thrust into her recklessly. He knew he shouldn't but couldn't stop. He wanted this too badly. He was already starting to get close to his peak, the pleasure of her body too much for him to hang onto. When he released her chin to run his fingers along her hard nipple, her head fell to the side again.

"No…" He muttered forcefully, nudging her with his to bring it back to him. "Look at me…" He groaned. He wanted to see her finish, slowing down his strokes but not relenting his force. When her eyes caught his again he let out a moan of satisfaction. She began to contact mercilessly around him, her legs tightening around his sweating hips.

Piper whimpered his name and arched her neck, eyes closing as she felt heat explode through her. Her fingers tightened on his back, nails cutting into the rough skin there. His hand shot up to her hair and pulled it, forcing her face back to him.

"Open yer fuckin' eyes Piper!" Daryl demanded through his panting. "Oh shit…" He muttered as he watched her cum under him, face contorting and mouth dropping open as she starred at him with large passion filled orbs. It was all he needed to find his release. He gasped, twisting his hips as he spilled hot, warm liquid into her body.

"Didn't hurt ya did I?" He murmured as she lay at his side after. He'd maneuvered his arm under her and was still running his hand over her soft, damp skin.

Piper smiled slightly, still trying to regain her breath. "No…" She whispered into his chest. "No that was…amazing." She breathed the last part out, sounding and feeling unbelievably satisfied and content for the first time in a month.

Daryl nodded to himself, glancing down as she traced small designs on his stomach. "I'll take it easier next time. I just…" He frowned and squinted up at the ceiling.

"I missed you too Daryl." Piper smiled and rubbed her nose into his skin, making him shiver with pleasure.

He licked his lips and clenched her closer. He'd forgotten that he didn't have to tell her these things. Whenever he tried to say something and couldn't get it out she had already figured it out and finished the statement for him.

"Did any of 'em…ya know…try and get at ya?" He asked her softly, not really sure if he wanted to know the answer. What if he's own brother had tried? He couldn't ignore that look of affection on his bastard brothers face.

Piper snuggled into him, taking in his heat and body. She needed it...needed to remember that she wasn't dreaming about him this time. If she was, let her die before she woke up. "No…no one will ever touch me again besides you."

Daryl nodded down at her, gripping her tight and making her look up at him. "I'll kill em all if they try."


	54. Chapter 54

**LyannaFairy: Thank you! I normally update a lot more and am trying!**

**LoyalAsAViking: Lol. It was the good kind of guilty. The kind of guilty that reminded me that they are practically real people to me and some of you!**

**Lphipps21: No worries! There will be a lot of good sex going on with them now that she is back and they can't let go of each other…as well as Norm and Trinity in Bakeshop when he gets home! :P**

**isopt: I wont forget about Speaking….I'm just kind of having a mind fart with it right now. Lol pregnant…I'll have to think about that.**

**gurl3677: Love you!**

**JetNova: It was heart breaking to write…poor Daryl.**

**Melissa: That was probably my fav scene in this whole chapter too. It was like he was excepting his punishment for losing her. That was the pic I was talking about! I wanted to print it out, frame it and put it up on my wall! So awesome!**

**coconutcarter: I just got season two on DVD and I'm watching it and am like…."Ohhhhhh Piper is going to kick your ass…" And than I remember that shes not a part of the show and that there are not strong female characters and I get sad.**

**jstarr713: Lol he's about to get really protective and possessive after nearly losing her.**

**Kit-cat99: Yeah but he can't hurt her. He's really afraid to. Despite the strength she has gain from her progression, time on her own and abilities some part of him still sees her as that girl he found that needs to be protected.**

**Broten: You sir/ma'am are amazing!**

**Leyshla Gisel: They are pretty connected! Thank you!**

**jinxleah: You are amazing! Thank you for sticking with us for so long!**

**gothbutterfly69: Thank you for all of your reviews as you went through and read this story. Its always interesting to see peoples reactions as they read through the whole thing at once.**

**Thank you to SaraLostInes, Emberka-2012, piratejessieswaby, GatorGirl99, JavaNut, ChooseJoy, and Caffiend04 for also reviewing!**

**Favorite Line:**

**_"What? You own me?"_**

_**"Somethin' like that."**_

**Chapter Fifty Four:**

Daryl watched Pipers body move through the woods, her steps sure and even on the known territory. She had always been good in the woods…even the first time he had taken her out hunting with him. She had mimicked his steps and made them her own easily. Her hips swayed in front of him as Rick and Michonne followed him, weapons ready.

Piper hadn't bothered to draw hers. She glanced behind her to see all of them at the ready and knew there was no need. She glanced at Daryl and watched his eyes flicker away from her ass the moment he felt her looking at him. His tongue darted across his bottom lip as he caught her eyes and gave a little smirk. She knew what he wanted…last night hadn't been enough for either of them.

Seeing the others behind him again she looked back in front of her, glancing through the trees. She scuffed her feet in the leaf covered dirt for a moment, closing her eyes as she felt the familiar texture. She was trying to remember the way to her favorite place to spy, using the smell and texture as a reminder just as much as her sight. Opening her eyes she darted forward into the woods.

Daryl growled as she quickly disappeared from his vision. "Girl! Get yer ass back here!" He called, chasing after her with Michonne and Rick following him. His heart hammered in his chest and he knew that this could not keep happening. He was going to die of mental exhaustion if he kept imagining all of the things that could happen if she kept doing shit like this.

Piper jumped onto a fallen log and looked around for a moment, figuring out which way she wanted. She could hear Daryl and the others following her, a low growl of frustration coming from Daryls chest. She smiled back at them as they caught up just enough to see her before walking slowly over to one of the trees.

"Here." She said quietly, remembering sitting in the tree to watch the tower at night, knowing now that it was Daryl that she had watched so closely…unknowing. It was an odd thing to think about; that hunched over, desolate figure being the strong man that she knew so well by now. "This was my favorite spot."

Daryl stepped forward and looked up at the tree branches above him and then in the direction of the prison. He grunted. "Shit…" He looked down at his woman, tight at his side again. Thank god. "She could see the gate and the main towers from here." He muttered to Rick. He looked at her again. "The lights of the block that we were in at night…all entrances and exits. Perfect spot." He muttered the last part to her. Piper gave a bright smile as he looked at her closely. "Good girl."

Michonne bristled at the words and Daryl squinted his eyes at her. Brushing it off, he looked back at Rick. "Gunna take her ta look around some more. Make sure there ain't no one out here wanderin' around scouting. Don't need no one else finding her spots."

"We'll go with you." Michonne said.

"No." Daryl grunted glancing at her than back at Rick, reaching out and taking Piper by the wrist again, his large hand wrapping around it tightly. "Better on our own fer a bit." He rubbed his thumb up and down the inside of her slender wrist as she nodded.

Rick nodded, understanding. They need some alone time…some privacy to break down in. He was pretty sure that he had heard them last night…that most of the people in the cell block could. Lori had given him a frown and shook her head, as if disgusted by the fact that two people could still fall for each other in this type of world. Rick had laughed it off. What were they supposed to do after thinking that the other had been gone? After thinking that the other could be dead or worse?

"Just be back before dark." He ordered, smiling and shaking his head as Piper gave him a mock salute with the hand that wasn't being held in the hunters powerful and desperate grasp.

Daryl looked down at Piper as he tugged at her wrist lightly, pulling her away from the other two with his mouth in a hard line.

Michonne shook her head and looked at Rick. "Just hope he doesn't lose her again."

Rick furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the new member. "He didn't lose her…he let her go so she could help our group."

Michonne shrugged. "Same effect." She muttered, looking in the direction that they had gone.

Daryl pulled Piper deep into the woods before spinning around and attacking her lips with his. Just as she was about to respond he yanked them and the pleasurable sensation they caused away. "Never again Piper!" He hissed at her, receiving only a questioning look. "Ya need ta stay in my sight all the fucking time, got me?! And none of that Lori and Carl shit! ALWAYS in my sight."

Piper frowned slightly gripping his arms and feeling how tensed his muscles were. "Daryl…I'm okay. I promise I'm right here and I'm not leaving again."

Daryl shook his head angrily at her. "No ya aint leavin' again. And I aint lettin' ya run off or get taken…nothin'! Yer MINE. No body gunna take ya away again. Not that Governor bitch, not my brother…but ya can't be runnin' off and makin' it easy fer 'em!"

Piper looked at him as he took a step closer to her, making her back collide with one of the trees. She could clearly see the angry flash of desperation in his eyes. She let out a little breath before reaching out and grabbing his vest, giving it a gentle tug. Daryl stepped forward to her and let her pull him down to kiss him sweetly. He leaned his hands on the tree and let her tiny tongue snake around his, running along the back of his teeth and making him shiver for a moment as her fingers gripped into his shirt.

Piper broke away and looked up at his closed eyes, licking her lips. "Do you want to kill something with me? It will make you feel better." Daryl frowned at her and shook his head. Piper bit her lip and reached down, grasping the hem of her shirt and pulling it slowly over her head as Daryl watched in silence.

Daryl licked his lips slowly as he watched her reach behind her and undo her bra, dropping it to the ground with her shirt. His eyes fell to her breasts, hypnotized as he saw her pink little nipples harden in the cooling air. His hands came up without him controlling them, thumbs brushing against the tiny buds to make them come to full attention.

"I'm yours." She reminded him gently, making his blue eyes dart up to hers. "I'm not going anywhere."

Daryl gripped her hips tight as she straddled and rode him, his eyes traveling along her body while she moved. He bit his lips hard as he watched her breasts bounce with each motion she made, her tiny, limber body flexing and contracting as her hips swayed to take in his length over and over again. He couldn't pull his eyes away from her even as his mouth dropped open and head tilted back.

Piper bit her lip to keep from screaming as his fingers dug into her hips and his rose to meet hers. His face tilted back to her as he craned his neck to watch their bodies connecting again and again. She could tell that he was having a hard time not making noise either, biting his lower right lip hard. His eyes rose up to hers again before he reached out a hand to touch her neck and face.

He pushed himself up on his elbow, sitting up against her chest and sliding his hand around the back of her neck, gripping it as his brother had done. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried not to think about it. She made a whimpering sound that might have been his name and he gritted his teeth together as they moved, pushing her face into his neck to hide the sound of pleasure she made.

Piper gripped hard into his thighs behind her, feeling herself get close. He was too if how he was thrusting up into her was any indication. Her muscles contracted about him, ripping his orgasm out of him as her teeth dug into his broad shoulder to keep from screaming out. "Shit Piper…" He hissed as he felt himself shaking and the little bit of pleasurable pain from her tiny teeth.

He could feel her panting into his neck and shoulder over the tiny cuts her teeth had made. Gripping his fingers into the soft hair on the back of her neck, he pulled her face away, looking into it was conviction. "No one…ever, gets ta touch ya again. Ya hear?" All he could think about was the way that Merle had touched her, gripped her neck, run his fingers down her throat. The way that she had placed her hand over his heart. She had told him that she hadn't been with Merle and if how tight she still was, was any indication, she wasn't lying. All the same he couldn't get it out of his head…or the anger that it brought.

"What? You own me?" She gasped, smiling at her own joke and the aftershocks of being with him again.

Daryl scrunched up his face, curling his lip. "Somethin' like that." He snarled before kissing her hard again. She was his. He wasn't going to lose her again. He wasn't going to let anyone take her away. He could only imagine what that would do to him long term now. He didn't care what he had to do or who he had to kill.

It wasn't going to happen again.


	55. Chapter 55

**vexingvixen7****: I know right. I would start hyperventilating if he talked to me like that. Its been a very emotional arch. I'm glad you're in love!**

**Mockingjay101****: It always warms my heart when you guys say you want Piper in the show. I do too. **

**LoyalAsAViking****: They are about to get super real. Up until now they haven't had to deal with other people's thoughts on their relationship or external forces. Poor kids don't know what they're in for. **

**Melissa: Lol no that bitch will never live down her horrible parenting skills. Thank you for reading bakeshop and feel free to private message me anything you would like to see happen with Norman/Trinity or any thoughts! I'm always up for writing it!**

**LyannaFairy**** and ****Kit-cat99****: I think that Michonne is a strong women so she really objects to the entire ownership thing that Piper and Daryl have going on. She doesn't understand why or the nature of that relationship. **

**Caffiend04****: I'll get more into that but Daryl has never had to deal with her as pertains to other men. None of the other men in camp really were much of a threat because they knew right from the get go that he was the only one who she would talk to. Even when she and Rick started getting close he started getting bent out of shape. Now he has to deal with the fact that she was away with others for a month.**

**Thank you to ****JetNova****, ****Guest****, ****Emberka-2012****, ****Leyshla Gisel****, ****coconutcarter**** and ****gurl3677**** for also reviewing.**

_**Favorite Line: "Especially you red neck! Who the hell do you think you are?! Your brother?!"**_

"_**What the HELL did ya just say ta me bitch?!"**_

Chapter Fifty Five:

"What did it feel like?"

Piper looked up at Carl and Beth where they were sitting on the coat across from her in the cell. Sophia was at her side, cuddled up while Maggie and Glenn sitting on the floor. All of them held a hand of warn cards the edges fraying. Piper shifted them as she tried to figure out how to sound convincing when she bluffed since she had nothing. Damn her for not being able to lie. Daryl had just come back from his patrol of the yard and was leaning heavily on the door from, his eyes cast down to the floor but rising from time to time to look at whoever was talking and then at her.

"What did what feel like Carl?" She murmured, clearly bored.

Carl looked at her intensely…curiously. "What did it feel like when you killed Shane?"

Piper's eyes shot to the boy and she leaned back against the cold stone wall. She pursed her pink lips and closed her eyes as she remembered. There is was in her mind, shifting around and flashing like a grotesque red strobe light on her consciousness. Power, vengeance, control...utter and complete enjoyment at ending a life, even when she personally knew the man that she was doing it to. She could feel her own hissed words to Shane on her lips. They still tasted good. She licked her lips as she opened her eyes and looked at all of them looking at her.

Her eyes darted to Daryl and she shook her head slowly, indicating that she had no answer that she could tell them without getting into trouble with Lori or Rick. Even if Carl and the others didn't tell, she knew that it was something that she shouldn't let the kids know about.

Daryl shifted on his feet, adjusting his shoulders before glancing at Glenn and nodding his head out of the door as an indication to get them all out.

Glenn nodded quickly, looking from Daryl to Piper, who was now looking down and letting her hair fall in her face, as though the thick curls could hide her answer. "Okay guys…we've got chores to do. Everybody come on."

Daryl came fully into the dim cell as the others left, taking his crossbow from his shoulder and putting it at the end of the cot. He watched as her eyes stayed focused on her knees. Slowly he started to undo the buttons of his dirty shirt, trying to work the knots out of his tensed shoulders and back. "What?" He finally asked gruffly.

Piper gave a little shrug with her tiny shoulders. "I…liked it. I've never liked it that much before." She paused. "When I killed the first guy…that did _it_ to me I didn't even really enjoy it. I mean…I felt safe, powerful and strong but it wasn't an enjoyment."

Daryl grunted and sat down, pulling the flannel off but keeping the wife beater on and started to undo the laces on his boots. "I seen what ya saw I probably would've liked it too." He muttered, glancing back at her as he kicked the footwear away. She was still looking down at her knees, hair covering her eyes. "He tried ta kill ya Piper. Tried ta kill Rick. Aint no shame in what ya did." He reached over and pushed the hair away from her face to see her nose was crinkled and eyes a little red.

"If there's no shame in it, why do I feel so bad?" Why did she feel so ashamed when Carl had asked her about it? When Rick had been crying, wailing and screaming over the body of his dead friend, why was it that she could just stare at her morbid work like it was a painting about to be displayed? She wasn't ashamed of the action itself…oh no. Shane needed that knife in his belly. It was her reaction to it that made her stomach turn.

Daryl watched with a frown at the pain that flashed across her face. "Don't have no reason ta feel bad Piper…what ya did, what ya do…" He stopped. He couldn't say that he enjoyed killing. As she had said before, you just feel safer after the threat was gone.

Piper frowned as he stopped and pulled his hands away. "Just tell me I'm not a monster Daryl?"

Daryl's eyes shot to her again. "No!" He said forcefully. "No ya aint a monster Piper. Ya aint and ya aint damaged or cold or nothin'. Yer _fine_." He emphasized the last word before leaning in and kissing her forehead hard. "I love ya." He muttered into her skin, a secret that wasn't really a secret but always hidden.

* * *

Piper sat on one of the hard metal tables in the cafeteria, sharpening her knife. Her eyes were focused intently on the silvery metal, seemingly always covered in red. She felt the comforting metal and listening to the metallic ringing of the blade on the wet stone. She smiled slightly down at it before lifting it to the light to examine the edge.

Daryl glanced up from the map he was looking at next to her, planning with Rick, Glenn, T-dogg, Andrea and Michonne. "Good." He muttered at the newly sharpened edge. He handed her a dirty, torn bandana out of his pocket to polish up the edges without really looking at her, too focused on his work.

Piper glanced at her when Michonne rolled her eyes but focused back on her task. She held out her slender hand but now calloused hand to Rick.

He gave her a little smile and handed her his knife to sharpen and work on. "I'm going to have to train you how to clean and work on the guns." The deputy told her, grinning as her eyes lit up at the thought.

"From what I seen of Pipers spots best ways for them ta come at us are from here…and here." Daryl pointed to the two road on the map. "Aint gunna stop 'em completely but we block off the road's and it could make it harder for them ta bring heavy weapons or tons of guys."

"Okay." Rick muttered. "I'll take Piper and T-dogg with me-"

Daryl let out a negative grunt, shaking his head and putting his hand on Pipers head instinctively. His dirty, rough fingers flexed in and out on the soft, familiar curls, desperate to remember that she was still there and that he still had her. If no one else was there he would have leaned in and smelled them as assurance. "She goes out, girl stays with me. Mine stay with me."

"Okay what the fuck?" Michonne jerked up from the bench making all eyes turn to her. How could they just sit by and watch this happen! He was practically petting her! Pipers hand stilled on the blade. "Why the hell do you talk to her like she belongs to you? She doesn't."

"Michonne-" Piper started softly only to be cut off.

"No Piper! This is unbelievable! You all talk to her like she's a dog! 'Good girl?' 'Mine?' 'Train?' She's a person!" She turned back to Daryl who was clenching his fists in and out in anger. "Especially you red neck! Who the hell do you think you are?! Your brother?!"

Daryl's lip curled the moment he heard it. He could take her not understanding. Not many people did but at least they had the decency to keep their huge mouths shut! It was none of her business! But comparing him to the way his brother treated her? "What the HELL did ya just say ta me bitch?" He snarled, leaning over the table towards her.

"Michonne stop it!" Piper said quickly, putting her hand on Daryl's shoulder.

Michonne glared at him hard. "You heard me! You treat her like a slave! You have no right-"

"Its not what you think it is Michonne." Andrea said as he saw Piper stand on the bench next to Daryl, trying to tug his arm back.

"Seriously Michonne shut up!" Piper told her. She was literally in between the two now, her hand in the center of Daryl's puffed out, angry chest. "Dammit! Will someone just tell her what happened!" Piper finally cried out. They all looked at her in surprise. No one really talked about what happened to her that day in the woods. There were little whispers but nothing more. "Fuck." She said softly to herself as she jumped down from the bench and slipped from the now silent room.

Daryl watched her leave, shaking his head slightly. He could still feel the rigidness of his body, filled with anger and rage. "Ya don't know what the hell yer talkin' about." He growled at her before snatching up the knife Piper had left on the table and his bow. "Someone fuckin' educate that bitch." He muttered as he slammed through the door and away.


	56. Chapter 56

**SaraLostInes: Yeah predictable but they needed to get it out there.**

**LoyalAsAViking: Lol thank you! That's how I try to write. I'm a very descriptive and visual person so I'm glad that you are liking it that way.**

**Leyshla Gisel and Lphipps21: Yeah…I'm sure that it will kind of get Michonne to shut up but I don't think that it will change her opinion. Which is fine. I mean their relationship is supposed to be kind of fucked up and dysfunctional.**

**JetNova: Awwwwww! Thank you! That means so much to me!**

**Saphireblu987 and DeviantDames: Lol yes if I came into the group I would probably be thinking the same way as Michonne. I don't want her to appear bad. She's a strong woman and I can see that she thought that Piper was as well. Now she is hit with this new information and its weird. Their relationship is supposed to be weird and dysfunctional so I'm glad that's coming across.**

**Thank you also to coconutcarter, Kit-cat99, gothbutterfly69, vexingvixen7, Emberka-2012, JavaNut, Rheila, piratejessieswaby and gurl3677 for also reviewing! Love you all so much for the support and love there is out there for this story.**

**_Fav Line: "I threatened your wife about gossiping. Sorry."_ **

**Chapter 56:**

The setting sun was casting red light across the cell wall, burning into his vision as Daryl lay on the cot with his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes and tried to block the setting sun out. He was still fuming.

'Who do you think you are? Your brother?!' The words rung in his head, bouncing around in his skull. Hey wasn't like his brother! He _wasn't. _He didn't call her his 'pup'. He loved her! She loved him. She looked to him to comfort and advice. She snuggled up into the side and molded herself to him like he was her life line. She defended him when people talked shit…he'd never had it before. He liked it; he had never thought he would like it before her crazy little ass showed up in his life.

He was a different man than he had been when Merle had been with them. He had people that relied on him. He was part of the groups decisions. Rick listened to him. The rest of the group depended on him. That meant something to him and he would be damned if he was going to let Merle ruin that for him. He growled to himself and rubbed his face with his hands, kicking the metal bars on the end of the cot in anger until the bed shook.

Finally he let out a deep breath and settled, glancing up at the cell door from time to time. It was getting late, the sun outside almost set and she still hadn't returned. He pursed his lips. He had wanted to give her time but his gut was aching. She needed to come back…but he wasn't going to tell her to come back. No, not after what Michonne had said. Slave, pet, dog. No.

Shaking his head he pushed himself up from the cot and went to find her, determined to be softer this time.

* * *

Piper sat in the over grown grass, looking through the fence at the walker that was reaching its arms through on the other side of the chain link. Its skin scrapped off its wrist as it pushed through the metal rungs, putrid flesh peeling like the skin of an over ripe fruit as it snapped at her. It looked like it was grasping out for her, boney fingers jerking and twitching. Her mind briefly reverting back to Daryl's hands trying to reach through the fence to grab her back from Merle. She frowned as she remembered the look of desperation and panic in his eyes, the tone of his voice when he said her name. Why couldn't Michonne or the others have heard that?

She closed her eyes and reached her hand out slowly, fingers only about an inch from its. Her eyes snapped open as she heard the familiar whirling of an arrow being released and going through the fence into the walkers head.

"Girl…" Daryl's voice growled as she turned to look at him. He sighed and plopped down in the grass next to her. "Ya know yer still a little crazy right?" He grumbled, settling himself.

Piper glanced at him and saw his eyes crinkling in the corners, a tell tail sign that he was holding back a little smile. "Yeah." She rested her head on his thick shoulder as he took off the crossbow and set it beside them. "Not as crazy though." She reminded him.

Daryl shook his head and looked down at the head of brown curls on his dirty shoulder. "Reckon ya aint." He muttered. He had been worried about what would happen when she was more healed; that she would move on. As it turned out she had been fighting tooth and nail to find him and get back to him. He leaned down and smelled her hair. He loved that smell by now; it was sweet. Somehow the woods always seemed to cling into it; familiar and stress relieving.

Piper smiled slightly and closed her eyes at the sensation of his breath in her hair. She had to admit that she adored that feeling. "Don't listen to Michonne or any of them…They don't know."

Daryl licked his lips and nodded, crossing his feet at the ankles. Outsiders. They really hadn't had to deal with them. "Do ya…" He paused and tried to collect his thoughts. "I don't try ta treat ya bad." He finally said.

Piper looked up at him quickly. "Are you joking?" She asked him, only receiving a shake of his head as an answer. "Daryl Dixon." She sighed and pulled herself up so that she was sitting across his legs and took his face in her hands. "No man could ever treat me as well as you have over the past few months. You saved my life…a few times. You've held me through nightmares. You've been…patient with me. I love you."

"The way I talk ta ya in front of the others…I just don't know how ta…" He shook his head. He didn't know how to be affectionate in front of the others with her without revealing weakness. He didn't want to be seen as weak but obviously he was appearing something else towards her in front of all of the others.

Piper shook her head quickly. "Daryl stop." She whispered. "I know how you are with me…fuck the rest of them. It's our relationship." He seemed to bristle under the words, becoming uncomfortable and shifting slightly under her legs. She rolled her eyes resisting a laugh at someone finally saying it out loud. "That's right Daryl you're in a relationship and have been for a very long time. I know what you mean to me. I know what I mean to you. That's all that really matters."

Daryl considered, leaning back on his hands in the dirt with her still sitting across his legs. "It's just…Rick and Lori…Glenn and Maggie…they can show shit."

Piper's lips parted as she watched his eyes dart away from her to play with some of the strands of grass next to him, busying himself so that he wouldn't be looking at her during the confession. "Glenn and Maggie just started…they haven't even fought yet. And Rick and Lori? Do you really want to go there?"

"No." Daryl muttered. "That shit'll take up the rest of the night."

Piper laughed and cupped his scruffy cheeks in her hands. "I know how you love me…I'm there when it's just the two of us…let them not understand. I don't care because I love you." She reached out and pulled his hand out of the grass, making him look back at her as she pulled the rough limb and place it on her waist. "And I know that you love me too."

Daryl pursed his lips together as he ran his thumb up and down her shirt. He glanced back up at her soft face and gave her a little nod. "I do Piper." His eyes darted up to hers as she smiled lean leaned forward to give him a sweet innocent kiss.

Piper smiled as his other hand came up to her face and warmth spread through her, ten times stronger than arousal. "I know Daryl…I really do." She whispered against his lips.

Daryl nodded and rested his forehead against hers. He was going to be better about showing it.

Daryl and Piper walked back down the halls of the prison. She smiled slightly as she felt his hand drift down her arm attentively, running along her hand and finally gripping onto her fingers. She looked up at him carefully but his face was a mask, trying to hide that he was still getting used to this situation…even after so long. He tried to hide how much he liked it.

"Piper." Both of their faces snapped up to see Lori walking towards them. She glanced at Daryl before looking down at their fingers twisted around each others. Daryl's body instantly went into a defensive posture, angling into Piper as if his sheer presence could protect her. "Can we talk…in private?"

Piper pursed her lips together. Why did people always want to talk to her in private? She didn't say enough to have a full conversation with in private. "Sure…" She looked up at Daryl. "I'll be back to the cell as soon as I'm done." She whispered up to him, feeling his strong hand grip hers tighter.

Daryl gave a little nodded and glanced at Lori out of the corner of his eye before looking back down at Piper. "I..um..." God dammit! Saying that he loved her in private was so much easier than saying it in front of people!

Piper nodded up at him a little smile playing on her lips at the fact that he was trying. His eyes were narrowed and brows drawn together with effort. "I know." She told him with a gentle peck on the lips. "I'll see you in bed."

He nodded and pulled away from her, stepping past Lori and down the hall, glancing back at the two women.

Lori turned her head over her shoulder to make sure Daryl was completely gone before turning back to Piper. The older brunette frowned at her and rubbed her hair before crossing her arms over her chest. "Rick told me." She finally said to Piper.

Piper frowned and mimicked the illusion of strength that Lori was trying to give off in her stance. "Rick told you what?" She asked.

Lori frowned and looked at her hard. "That you're the one who stabbed Shane."

"Ah." Piper muttered glancing to the side and then down at her boots. "I'm guessing he mentioned that I did it to save his life?"

Lori frowned but nodded. "But you…you had no right to let Carl see it."

Piper frowned. "We've all seen things we shouldn't Lori. Have you talked to him about it? He was asking me questions-"

Lori narrowed her eyes at her. "You better not have told him anything." She snapped.

Piper cocked her head to the side. That sounded oddly like a threat from a curled up leaf, incapable of doing anything except littering the ground and blowing away. "I _better not have_? Of course I didn't tell him what it felt like to kill." She hissed. "Or were you more concerned about me telling him that you slept with his dad's best friend?" Hell, they all seemed to have opinion's and talk about her relationship with Daryl so why couldn't she throw in a stab here and there?

Lori stared at her, brown eyes widening. No one else talked about it…they just swept it under the rug like every other problem. "Not all of us can just run after some supreme protector like you did with Daryl." She jabbed back.

Piper took a little step closer to her and lowered her voice until it came out in a deep threatening murmur. "Isn't that exactly what you did Lori? Run to the next man in line that would save your life?" She looked at her closely, running her eyes over the other woman's paling and drawn face. "I would have done with a simple thank you for saving your husband's life…not a threat.

"But let me say this one more time in case my actions haven't been clear enough since I came into this group. Daryl and my relationship is good…perfect the way it is…in all of its fucked up weirdness. And it's private. I like you all but if I hear any of you talk about it again like you have some kind of insight, which you don't, I will slit your throat open so wide you'll come back to life in two pieces." She licked her lips and starred at the woman hard. "I hope that was crystal clear."

Lori nodded quickly. "I um…" She stopped.

Piper shook her head. "If you don't have anything nice or productive to say, let's keep quiet." She patted the pale woman's shoulder. "I'll be around to help with dinner." She called back as she walked off.

Letting out a little breath she frowned to herself as she pushed through the doors towards the cell block, passing Rick along the way.

Rick frowned as he saw her shaking her head. "Piper? You doing alright?"

Piper turned on her heel so that she was facing him again as she walked backwards. "I threatened your wife about gossiping. Sorry." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Rick let out a little breath, trying not to laugh at the ease with which she had said it. "Christ." He muttered rubbing the back of his head and giving a little smile.


	57. Chapter 57

**All righty guy! I am sorry for the lack of updates. And I have to say that this will be the final installment of this story. Fear not though! I will be writing a sequel so fav me as an author to see when it comes up. Piper will be back with Daryl…and probably a lot more Merle because I love him!**

**I just want to say thank you to everyone! This has without a doubt been my most responded to story. Your enthusiasm has definitely been amazing and one of the reasons why I have kept it going for so long and the reason why there will be a sequel.**

Favorite Line: "...That's definitely something."

Chapter 57:

"Come on guys. You have to be faster than that!" Piper called as she spun on the balls of her feet in the grass, narrowly avoiding Beth.

The game had started out simple. "Catch Piper" with Carl and Sophia. They had insisted on some kind of game now that the weather was tolerable and Piper knew as well as anyone that any kind of movement would be good on their motor skills when it came to hunting or fighting of the undead…or sometimes even the living. Carl and Sophia needed that if they were going to survive in this world, regardless of their mothers protest. This was a good way to do it without encouraging the wrath of the mothers. Not that Lori had been much of a problem over the last few days. Even Rick seemed a little happier with the lack of lip.

Gradually though Piper had gotten bored and decided that she would rather not let the tweens catch her. She twirled in the grass; side stepping out of their grasps and making them trip over themselves and each other. She laughed and climbed where they couldn't get at her.

Finally Beth and Maggie had taken pity on the two kids and come to their aid. Not that It really did much good. The rest of the group watched from the side lines, either laughing or with small smiles playing on their lips.

Daryl shook his head as he chewed on a piece of grass his one leg propped up on the short cement wall he was sitting on with his other planted on the ground. Rick sat next to him, cleaning his gun with an old, worn dish rag. The sheriff's deputy didn't bother to hide his amusement, laughing out right when one of the kids made a little fall or missed Piper. Daryl watched the way her feet pushed off the ground, giving her speed and maneuverability, watched her twist out of the others holds easily. Sometimes they grabbed a corner of her shirt but she was sure to never let enough of the group around her to let that really happen.

He couldn't help but give a little smirk to himself. He'd helped with that, but he couldn't take all the credit. If it had all been his teaching there would be no way she was that…graceful, appealing, beautiful.

"Dad!" Carl called out, laughing and breathing hard. "Come on! Help us."

Rick laughed and pushed himself up from next to Daryl, giving the hunters shoulder a pat. He walked slowly over as Piper walked in circles with him, her eyes taking in the direction that her new playmate was taking. Daryl watched the sure footsteps, rubbing his lips and smirking.

"What do you think Piper?" Rick asked with a smile. "Are you going to kill me if I catch you?"

Pipers eyes widened just a fraction in in silent challenge. "If you can catch me Rick. If." She nearly laughed.

Rick made a little lunging movement towards her and she side stepped, feet skimming the grass with her toes pointed just as she was trained. Rick pointed to his eyes and then at her, locking in her attention. She smiled at him, cheeks flushed. Rick loved it when Piper really smiled and played. It was like a window into the life that she had lost. She must have used to be an amazing girl…a smiling, happy, energetic beauty.

He made more of an actual lung at her and she jumped backward out of his way and right to where Daryl had sunk up behind her. She whirled around to him as her shoulders struck his chest. Daryl smirked and grabbed her, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder easily.

"Cheaters!" Piper wailed, pounding half heartedly on Daryl's strong back with her little fists.

Daryl patted her on the ass proudly. "Good girl! 30 minutes of chasin' and nobody's dead." She smiled and went limp against him, tired from laughing so hard and playing.

"Well no one caught me." She reminded him, propping her elbows on his back.

Daryl shook his head and swung her off his shoulder. "I caught ya." He told her as her feet planted on the ground in front of him, hands on her hips and looking all kinds of playfully indignant.

"You cheated." She repeated.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at her, taking in the way her chest rose and fell under the white tank top. He could see a flush in her soft cheeks. Her pulse was moving tantalizingly in her long slender neck, calling out for him. Forgetting that anyone else was there, he leaned forward and took her flushed cheeks in his hands, pulling her face up and pressing his lips to her soft sweet ones. His tongue plunged into her mouth, causing her breathing to pick up again as her fingers gripped into the sides of his shirt, surprised that he was kissing her in front of everyone.

Rick grinned and glanced over at Glenn and T-dog who were chuckling to themselves on the side lines. Daryl broke away as he heard the children and Beth giggling. He took a deep breath and kept his focus on her softly closed eyes in front of him.

Piper smiled and opened her eyes, gripping into his shirt and pulling him back down close to her. "I love you." She whispered so that only they could hear.

Daryl gulped down and glanced at the others before touching his lips to hers again in answer. He pulled away from her grasp and glanced at the others. "Well come on! We got shit ta do!" He yelled at them, picking up his cross bow and moving to start his rounds.

He glanced behind him once more, her green eyes catching his blue ones and making his chest clench pleasurably.

Grunting he turned again and stalked back to her, pulling her tiny body to him forcefully with one hand while burying his other in her hair. He brought her lips to his again with force, burying his tongue inside of her and wishing that it could stay there forever. He broke the kiss but gripped her harder so she wouldn't move an inch from him. "And I love ya." He murmured, voice throaty and without regret.

Piper felt her heart beating in her throat, his warm breath still moving against her bruised lips. "I know."

* * *

"You don't think it's a bit weird?" Michonne asked Andrea as they watched the game from the watch tower.

Andrea shook her head. "You didn't see her Michonne. There wasn't a single place on her body that wasn't beaten or cut or mutilated." She closed her eyes as she thought about that first day Daryl had brought the half dead girl back. She could remember it vividly, even in the walker apocalypse it had been the most gruesome thing that she had ever seen. The tent floor had been so slick with blood by the time Piper was totally bandaged she had slipped in it and fallen, covering herself and her cloths in the morbid liquid. Andrea had never seen someone assaulted so brutally. She shook her head. "She trusts Daryl and as messed up as their…relationship is it works for them…for all of us."

Michonne shook her head. "It doesn't work for me." She told her friend. "Piper is strong, capable. She doesn't need some ass hole telling her what to do."

Andrea frowned. "He doesn't really…tell her what to do." She sighed and leaned against the window. "When she first came to us, she was wild. No one was allowed near her except Daryl…probably because he saved her. She could have killed a lot of people if he didn't step in. Believe it or not they have made each other a lot more…human I guess. Not just her but him too." She glanced over her shoulder to see the strange couple kissing in the grass. "He wouldn't have done that before…show affection."

Michonne glanced out the window. "That's not affection. That's desire." She muttered before shaking her head and walking off.

Andrea frowned and looked down at Daryl looking at his woman's face. "No…that's definitely something."


End file.
